How Are Things Going to Turn Out?
by sapphire blue-ruby red roses
Summary: Sequel to "Will It Be Alright?" SPR has returned from the hospital. It's been six months since then and their getting a new case for a ghost who has an affinity for killing and trying to kill females, but who exactly are their clients?
1. Chapter 1: Who are you?

**It's the sequel to "Will It Be Alright"! I'm sorry for such a long wait you guys, I hope you guys can forgive me! *bows deeply***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

**p.s. – I hope you guys enjoy the chapter :P**

Chapter 1: Who are you?

Mai leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling of the SPR office. It's been quiet all day, and she was due for some noise. Neither Lin nor Naru had left their office the entire day, and they'd had no clients or calls.

She sighed heavily, sliding deeper into her seat. "Someone hurry up. I'm bored," she whined to herself. Closing her eyes, she did as Gene had taught her in their last case. She cleared her mind, thinking only of a sort of black void then she let her mind take a tour of her memories. Right before she was enveloped by the warmth and coolness that came with her own world, she conjured up an image of only Hikaru, her animal representative.

The next sigh that came from her mouth was a content one. She embraced the warmth and coolness, keeping her eyes shut for a prolonged moment.

Something small and furry brushed against her exposed calf. The unmistakable chitter-grunt of an otter reached her ears. A smiled bloomed across her face as she opened her eyes to look at Hikaru. The small brown otter grinned back.

"Hey Hikaru," Mai murmured, pulling the creature onto her lap, "It's been awhile hasn't it? Sorry about that." Hikaru nuzzled Mai's cheek, her purr machine kicking on. That always made Mai think of kittens.

Hikaru chitter-grunted and dropped her nose to sniff Mai's bulging belly. She pawed gently at it, keeping her claws safely tucked away so they wouldn't get caught in Mai's shirt or scratch her. "I know, I'm huge aren't I?" Mai asked the otter with a laugh, scratching at the base of her tail.

Almost immediately after the appearance of Hikaru, a huge completely black wolf walked out of Naru's office, an admonishing look in his deep blue eyes. He trotted over to her, still giving her that look even as he sniffed Hikaru and licked the side of her face. Hikaru chitter-grunted and crawled onto the wolf's back.

"Sorry Daisuke, but I haven't seen her in a couple months," Mai told the wolf apologetically, and then shouted to Naru, "And it's not like you're out here entertaining me so lay off." She was laughing even as she finished the statement, marring the stern tone she'd been going for.

"That's true, but you're also nine months pregnant. You should be at home resting," Naru countered as he opened his office door. He sighed, looking over at her. He held a tea cup that had been empty for hours in one hand and a book was tucked under the other arm.

"There's nothing to do at my house. I thought for sure work would be more interesting, but today it doesn't seem to be," Mai said with a sigh even as the door opened with a jingle to reveal an over-confident man and a very timid woman standing just behind him. The man had familiar brown hair and arrogant steel grey eyes. The woman was petite with thin blonde hair and cautious green eyes. Her hair was shot through with silver at her temples.

"Is this Shibuya Psychic Research?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing as they landed on Naru. He didn't even take the time to glance at Mai which gave her a sense of de javu. He seemed oblivious to Hikaru and Daisuke, but the woman was another situation all together. She was well aware of the snarling wolf and hissing otter. She squeaked in surprise. "Shut up," the man snapped at her. She shrunk away from the open doorway.

Naru muttered something unintelligible, but almost certainly insulting, under his breath. "I thought that would be obvious from the sign on our door," he quipped before turning to Mai, "Do we have any appointments scheduled for today?" Something in his eyes told her to make up something that wouldn't keep the couple there long.

"None at this time," she said. At least she hadn't lied.

"Well then, you will interview us and take our case," the man said haughtily, his pride bruised by the comment Naru had made. He sauntered into the office like he owned the place. Finally, he seemed to notice Mai. He failed though to notice Lin stepping from his office. He assessed the situation quickly, moving to stand behind Mai.

The man gave her a lecherous grin. "Well, aren't you a pretty one. I'd peg you about 20 at most. What is a pretty girl like you doing working in a place like this? And pregnant no less?" he asked leisurely, eyeing her.

A shiver of disgust and fear skittered up her spine. "I don't believe that is any of your business sir," she answered politely, turning back to her paperwork and pretending to file it away.

The man hummed in appreciation making Mai wish she could move faster than her nine months of pregnancy would allow. "Well, if you're ever looking for another job-" he began, but Naru cut him off curtly, earning a sharp glare.

"Sir, I believe it is time for you and your wife to be leaving," he said politely, though the glare he was giving the man was anything but polite.

The man snorted without humor. "Of course we're not leaving, you haven't interviewed us and taken out case yet," he said, standing with his hands on his hips. The woman behind him gave Mai a fearful look and made a shooing motion, pointing towards the kitchenette.

Mai nodded discretely and carefully got to her feet with Lin's help. She hurried as fast as she could towards the kitchenette, taking care not to make any noise. She didn't want to draw the man's attention again. She had no need to worry. Naru was keeping the man well occupied.

"No, it's not that I will interview you, it's that I can. And it's not that I will take your case, it's that I might," he explained, his patients for the man waning quickly.

The woman finally spoke up. She edged cautiously around the man making a noise that brought attention to her. "Please, sir, please take our case. We really need your help. The situation is dyer. My daughter's life is in danger," she pleaded even as she eyed her husband fearfully.

"Did I tell you that you could talk?" the man snarled, glaring hatefully at the small blonde. She retracted, dropping her eyes to the floor and seemingly growing stronger.

Ignoring the man, Naru stared the woman down. "What do you mean?" he said, his glare burning a hole into the middle of her forehead.

She shrank back even more, glancing up at her husband and then back at Naru. She decided that her husband's wrath was with it if they got help. "There's a… a ghost who is haunting our home. It," she swallowed loudly, fear leaking into her eyes that had nothing to do with the man, "It has already killed three of our maids. It's targeting our daughter and son now. Please sir, please assist us." The woman dropped into a low bow, her hands nearly brushing the floor.

Naru sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Have a seat and tell me about your problem," he said, turning his back on the pair and going to take his usual place. Lin was already there, his laptop out and ready to go.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much!" the woman said, her face brightening as she bobbed up from her bow. She was oblivious to her husband who was still glaring at her.

They moved, the woman one step behind the man, to sit on the sofa across from Naru. You'd never believe they were married if you saw a picture of them they way they sat. They sat on opposite ends of the couch, their bodies angled away from each other.

Mai bustled out of the small kitchenette balancing five cups of tea, sugar, and milk on a shiny tea tray. She edged around the sofa holding the man and the woman, and set the tray on the coffee table. "Tea?" she asked even as she handed Naru and Lin their cups.

"Oh, yes plead, that would be great," the woman said, taking the cup. Her hand was steady even though her leg was shaking at a mile a minute. Anxiety rippled across her shoulders and down her back.

Mai wanted to shudder in revulsion at the look the man was giving her. He looked her up and down, his eyes roaming over every inch of her body. He hummed once again, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

Smiling without it reaching her eyes, Mai handed the man his cup and then picked up her cup. Naru stood and helped her ease into her seat before sitting back down beside her. He sat close to her leaving space on the couch for Hikaru and space on the floor for Daisuke.

"What are your names?" Naru asked.

"Haru Tsukiyomi and Kyoko Tsukiyomi," the woman answered immediately before her husband had a chance to open his mouth.

Mai's eyebrows scrunched together. Was it just coincidence that they had the same name as her ex or… No, it must have been a coincidence. There was no way they'd actually come to get help with a ghost.

Naru pursed his lips for a moment, before glancing towards Mai and asking his next question. "When did your problems begin?" he asked.

"About five months ago after our son came home from visiting a friend. He was very broken up about something. He wouldn't tell us. He would barely ever talk and he was so angry all of the time," she explained and then placed a cautionary hand over her lips, "Sorry, you don't want to hear about our family issues."

"No, it's fine. The more I know about the haunting, if it is that, and what happened leading up to when it first started, the faster I can finish the case if I take it," Naru explained, leaning back which left his lap unprotected from one sneaky Hikaru. She promptly darted into his lap and curled up, glaring at Haru. Naru narrowed his eyes down at the little otter before continuing. "Tell me about the haunting. Do you know anything about the spirit at all in any way, shape, or form? What exactly does the spirit do or attempt?"

Kyoko's eyes dropped, a sheen of tears shining in her eyes. Her shoulders hitched, and a quiet sob slipped between her lips. Mai jumped to her feet as fast as she could and got a box of tissues. She strung a comforting arm around the woman's shoulder, placing the box on the coffee table in front of them.

Haru glared scathingly at the woman like crying was a crime. He made a noise of disgusting in the back of his throat. "The 'ghost' or whatever has been trying to kill any female who comes into our house through various methods. It seems to favor strangling its victims though seeing as it has killed two of our maids and a family friend in that manner. It has tried to off various others in various ways," he explained with and unconcerned shrug, "It's gone after our daughter several times, but she hasn't been badly hurt."

Somehow to Mai, the man sounded stupider and stupider the more his talked.

"Please help us, we don't know what else to do. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my daughter. Please," Kyoko pleaded, looking up at him imploringly. Tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

He stared at the woman for a long, silent moment. His eyes slid to Haru who was trying his damnedest to see down her shirt before looking at Mai herself who was also watching him curiously, waiting for his response. "_Damn_," he thought. She just reminded him too much of Mai.

He sighed inwardly and stood. "Mai, take down their information and call the others," he said before turning his back on the group, Hikaru in his arms. He shot Lin a furtive glance. Lin nodded in understanding. Daisuke stayed behind, watching Haru like a hawk.

Kyoko gasped. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, her tears increasing as Naru shut his office door.

**There you go! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :D Look forward to the next chapter next week. Review please :D**


	2. Chapter 2: Together Again

**I'm so sorry you guys! I know this is going to sound like an excuse, but honestly, I've had no time to write. I got to school, I come back home, and then I have homework until 7. I would have done it this weekend if it weren't for more homework and going on a trip. Again, I'm sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 2: Together Again

"I think Naru's doing for the woman and her daughter," Mai mused to herself more than the two women sitting across from her. She sipped her coffee -decaf of course- and ran her hand over her swollen stomach. Hikaru raised up on her hind legs and sniffed at Mai's coffee. "No, Hikaru, you can't have any of this."

Hikaru frowned. She growled her displeasure and dropped back down to her paws. Daisuke padded up behind her. He carefully picker her up by the scruff of her neck, like a mama cat would a kitten, and carried her away.

"What are you talking about?" Ayako asked once Daisuke and Hikaru had disappeared up the stairs to the office where the men were gathering up the equipment. They were in the café beneath the SPR office.

"The case," Mai said like that would answer everything.

"What about it?" Masako asked next, looking up from the book propped open against her crossed legs.

"I think he took the case because of the threat to Mrs. Tsukiyomi and her daughter," Mai explained, taking another sip of her coffee. She hated the taste of the dark liquid whether it was decaf or not, but she'd been craving it for months. It's no wonder. Ikki loved coffee.

Ayako and Masako glanced at each other, their eyes growing wide. "Did you just say Tsukiyomi?" Masako asked, her tone ten level above incredulous.

"Wait, hold the phone! Are you telling me that Naru is actually taking a case from your dick head ex's parents? Is he fucking stupid?!" she asked, her voice raising to nearly a shout that silenced the café. She glared at Mai, a pissed off red tint to her cheeks.

"It's just a coincidence," Mai said in a voice that clearly showed that she didn't believe her own lie, "But think about it! What if Emma really is in trouble? Naru is probably expecting it not to be a coincidence so he **has** to help his friend!"

"But what about your risk? What happens if Ikki is there and still wants to get back at you? You'll be in the same house with him **again**," Ayako pointed out angrily, slamming her hand down on the table top, "You're pregnant, Mai. What is he fucking thinking?"

Mai's eyes dropped from Ayako's furious red glare to the table. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, twisting it between her hands. "Well, we kind of had a fight about this same issue the night he took the case. He's still pissed at me," she murmured guiltily, avoiding eye contact with both of her friends.

"What do you mean?" Masako asked before Ayako could shout the question at her.

"Well, Naru didn't want me to come in the first place. He said I'd be in too much danger especially if Ikki was there. We got into this huge fight and he ended up sleeping at Lin and Madoka's. He's been sleeping there since then," Mai explained quietly, tears springing to her soft brown eyes. She rubbed them away with the back of her hand quickly, but they'd already been seen. "Honestly, being overly emotional is the worst part of being pregnant."

Ayako and Masako were quiet. They stared at their friend for a long moment, guilt creeping into the backs of their threats. Ayako slid back into her seat. "Well, he's an idiot. Don't worry about him," she said enthusiastically, "We'll protect you and your baby. We'll act more like fathers than he ever will!"

A smile grew on Mai's lips. She looked back at Ayako, the light restored in her eyes. "Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind when I'm stuck in the van with Naru and Lin for the next three hours," she said with a disarming smile.

"Oh yeah," the pair said together, the smiles falling from their lips.

"Oh yeah," Mai repeated with a sigh.

…..

"Mai!" a high-pitched voice screeched the moment the van door popped open. Naru offered his hand to her, looking over his shoulder with a grim look. Something must have been wrong.

"Who is it?" Mai asked, worry leaking into her voice as she carefully slid her feet to the white pebble drive. She tried to look around to see who it was, but Naru's body was blocking the way. She heard the crunching of the gravel under the person's feet, and then she was being enveloped by a pair of arms. Naru had moved to the side at the last second so that she had only caught a flash of golden hair.

"It's so good to see you! I can't believe you're here helping us again!" shouted a female voice in her ear. The woman's arms were strong, but very gentle.

"Emma!" Mai cried in surprise, throwing her arms around the younger female, holding her close. "I haven't seen you in months. It's so good to see you again too."

"Months," Emma said pulling back to look Mai up and down, "And look at you. You've gotten so big. You've gotten so big! Have they told you the baby's gender yet? When are you do? Can I be there?"

Mai laughed watching Emma fuss over her like a mama hen. "Of course you're going to be there! I'm due in a few weeks, so you better come up for me. And no, I wanted to wait to know the gender."

The younger female stilled, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "A few weeks as in like two weeks?" Mai nodded and Emma's jaw fell slack. She let out an inhuman scream. "That's so great! I can't wait!" She threw her arms back around Mai once more, squeezing her tightly.

"Hey! What about me? I need some loving too!" Yasu jumped from Monk's car and spread his arm wide in an expectant gesture. Her stared at her, waiting for her to come to him.

"Yasu!" Emma cried, sprinting at the teen. She flung herself at him. She strung her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and crushed their mouths together. She ran her fingers up into his hair, anchoring herself to him. Yasu's arms wound around her waist, keeping her elevated against him.

"Whoo! Get ya some!" Monk said as he walked around his car to find the two teens, "Christ, get a room you two, will you? There's a house right there with the little lady's bedroom inside. Get! Skedaddle!"

"Gladly," Yasu said, turning his back on the group and started walking around the side of the house. Emma's tinkling laughter floated towards the even as the pair disappeared around the side of the house.

"Hey, no! I was joking. Come back! Emma, we need you to show us around," Monk called, staring after them, his arms spread wide. They came trotting back immediately, giggling.

"Emma darling, what's going on out here…" Kyoko's voice trailed off as she edged her way outside. She watched us carefully, shivering in either fear or hope. She took a tentative step backwards and then a more confident step forward. She painted on that professional smile that is never real. "Thank you so much for coming Shibuya-san, Taniyama-san." She nodded to the others.

"Oh Mom, you never told me you hired SPR," Emma called excitedly, bouncing back over to Mai's side, her hand still clutching Yasu's.

"Oh Emma darling, you're father wishes to see you," her mother told her, her eyes locked with Emma's. Mai could have sworn they were having a telepathic conversation. Kyoko looked away first to the rest of us. "Let me show you to the rooms you requested."

"No," Emma interjected immediately, startling her mother, "I'll do it. I know which rooms you'd pick."

"Are you sure?" Kyoko asked.

Emma nodded. "I can help them. The sooner they get everything set up, the sooner they can start."

"But you're father-"

"I'll talk to him later," she cut off her mother curtly, "Wish to accompany me, Yasu?" Her hand squeezed tightly around his hand, a clear sign she was scared to go alone. Emma was never scared of anything.

Yasu smiled reassuringly. "Of course."

Monk sauntered over to the pair followed by Ayako and the rest. Ayako and Monk strung their arms around Emma's and Yasu's shoulders. "Come on, let's get this show on the road," they said in unison, grinning from ear to ear.

**I don't know how frequent the chappies are going to be, but I'll try to make them as least once a week or every two weeks, but I'm sorry if they're not.**

**Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3: Butterflies

**Well, here you go, 3****rd**** chappy really early :D Or maybe just a make up for missing the week before last. Anywho, I told you guys the chapters might be infrequent. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 3: Butterflies

Mai shuffled around Base plugging in wires and monitors. Naru and Lin were off questioning the staff and other occupants of the house while the others were taking temperatures. Yasu and Emma had disappeared a while ago and still hadn't reappeared.

She grimaced as the child tucked safely within her womb kicked her in the ribs. Taking her hands from the cord she had just plugged in, Mai placed them on her stomach. She rubbed it gently, smiling to herself.

The door opened suddenly causing her to jump. She let out a squeak of fear, wrapping her arms around her middle in a protective stance, but there was no need for her to worry. Emma skipped in a lazy smile spread thick across her face. She closed the door behind her, pressing her back against it and sighing happily. She slid down landing softly on the thick rug.

Mai breathed in deeply attempting to slow her racing heartbeat. "You look happy. Did anything… productive take place while you were with Yasu?" she asked teasingly, sinking slowly into one of the armchairs before her legs gave out beneath her. The adrenaline trickled from her bloodstream leaving her legs feeling like jelly.

Emma's grin widened from ear to ear. "Oh yes, very very productive. Mmmm," she hummed, her green-grey eyes drifting closed. She giggled at something only she could see and something Mai could only guess at. She didn't even want to know what they'd been doing, she already had a gist of it.

"Bad Emma, we're here to work. You shouldn't be distracting the workers with your feminine charm," Mai chastised lightly, her stern tone marred by the huge smile she had on her lips.

Emma stuck her tongue out at her. "Like you're any better. Take our young Naru for example. He can hardly take his eyes off you whenever you're in the room," she shot back and then murmured, "Yet somehow he still seems to get all his work done and then some." She shrugged her shoulders and then smiled challengingly up at Mai.

A light blush crawled across Mai's cheeks. "Whatever," she said, trying not to grin.

"So, since we're on the subject, how have you and Naru been getting on? Has you being pregnant with Ikki's baby caused any problems?" Emma asked, jumping to her feet and plopping down in the chair beside Mai, "Oh, and how have John and Masako been getting along? They make a cute couple."

Mai snorted. "Well, I don't think they're that far along just yet. I think they're still in the stage of trying to figure out how they feel for each other. It's cute, really," she said rather sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, "As for Naru and me, well, we haven't had any fights concerning the baby. He's decided that even though he's not his child, he'll still raise the baby like he's his own child. The day your parents came to hire us, Naru and I had this huge fight. He's still really mad at me and hasn't come home yet."

"What? Where has he been sleeping then?!" Emma cried in outrage, anger flowing across her face in a warm gush.

"At Lin and Madoka's which I guess would explain why he's been so tired and grumpy lately," Mai said with a sigh and a shrug. She tried look anywhere but at Emma. It didn't work.

Emma waited until her eyes landed on her once more. "What do you mean?"

"You don't remember? I guess you wouldn't, you haven't visited us for a couple months, but Madoka gave birth a while ago. Yasu told you and sent you pictures," Mai explained a bemused look to her face.

Emma's face froze, shock creeping into her eyes. "Did he send the information to my cellphone?" she asked, clutching angry claws into her arm. Though she was wearing long sleeves, Mai was sure that Emma was cutting small crescent moons into her arm. Her sleeve revealed a small section of her wrist. A small, colored butterfly was drawn on the inside of her wrist.

"Yes, I think so," Mai answered.

"My father took my phone the moment I returned home. My aunt had apparently filled him in on my new formed relationships, especially the one with Yasu. Let's just say that he didn't like that too much," Emma said, her eyes dropping. She stared almost longingly at her arms, flexing her fingers. Her eyes twitched just the slightest bit in pain before she sighed heavily through her nose.

A bad feeling began twisting in the bottom of Mai's gut.

Mai frowned. "I guess that's why you've only sparsely been in touch. I'm sorry."

Emma waved her away, smiling gently. "Don't worry about it. I'm just happy that I get to see you guys again. It makes me so happy. So obviously, Madoka and Lin are doing great with their new baby…"

"She's a girl."

"…with their new baby girl," she finished, "Now what about Ayako and Monk? How have they been doing?"

Mai rolled her eyes again in exasperation. "Great. They can't keep their hands off each other. Do you know how many times I've walked in on them having sex now? More than I care to even think about." She growled in annoyance under her breath.

Emma laughed loudly. "Oh, that's great. They're like bunnies," she said, holding her sides.

Mai couldn't keep herself from laughing. "It wasn't that funny," she said through her own fit of giggles. Laughter is contagious even if you didn't think the comment/joke was funny.

Gasping for air several minutes later, Mai sobered up. She took a deep breath gearing up for what was probably going to be a strained conversation. "Um, Emma, can I… can I ask you something?" she stuttered, ringing the hem of her shirt between her hands.

"Of course, shoot for it," Emma said with one last giggle, wiping excess tears from her eyes.

Mai's eyes traveled to Emma's arm where a line of dark blood was beginning to stain the blue fabric near the crease of her elbow. Numerous butterflies decorated the part of her arm that was not covered by pale blue sleeve. Each butterfly had different colored wings. Each one had a letter beneath it. In order, the letters went: Y, M, N, M, A, J, M, L, and then another M. They stood for something. _Names maybe?_

"Well, I was just wondering, why do you have those butterflies draw on your arm?" Mai finally asked, slowly easing the question out.

Emma went stiff. Her shoulders tightened with sudden anxiety as her eyes darted down to her exposed arm. Self-consciously she slipped the fabric back down to cover her butterflies. She tried to grin it away.

"Oh, they're nothing, just something that I'm obsessed with right now and for something I support," she said with a too happy smile. Her eyes dropped back down, the grin falling from her face. "But they're all dead now so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"What do you mean by they're dead?" Mai asked, surprise lacing her voice.

"Oh nothing," Emma sang, her voice strained like she was trying hard not to cry, "I think I'll go see if I can help the others." She bounced over to the door, flinging it wide open. It narrowly missed one of the shelves.

"Wait, Emma-" Mai started to call after her, jumping to her feet and hurrying towards the door, but it just slammed shut, cutting her off. Mai sighed woefully, wishing for her friend's safety.

Just on the other side of the wood, Mai heard a soft, anguished sob.

**Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you also enjoyed me new kind of tweak on Emma's character. She's not completely that happy-go-lucky girl anymore, and something is wrong with her. I enjoy writing this new part, but it also makes me kind of sad if you know what I mean. Anyway, review please! :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Bunnies

**Look at me go! Another chapter! I hope you're all happy! I wrote this after school. I have to wait for an hour after school for my mom anyways. Might as well get something productive done. I hope you enjoy this chappy. It might be a little depressing as most of them are most likely going to be seeing as I'm going through one of those phases.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and I'll see you next time :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 4: Bunnies

"I think there's something wrong with Emma," Mai said several hours later sitting on the back porch with Yasu. They were on the swing overlooking the manicured lawn and huge oak tree. Brown, gold and scarlet leaves floated down to the green grass on soft currents of wind.

Yasu was silent for a moment. It was the appropriate amount of time you took if you wanted to see what someone else thought of something you'd already figured out. "Really? How do you mean?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on the lake far off in the background.

Mai paused, collecting her thoughts and letting her mind wonder for just a second what Yasu's pause had meant. "Well, I don't really know how to explain it. She's not as happy-go-lucky for one. She was… she was crying earlier," she started off, thinking back to her earlier conversation with the female in question, "Have you seen the butterflies all along her arm?"

Again, another pause, this time longer than the last. "Yes," he said hesitantly, "What about them? Is there something wrong with them?" His voice adopted an edge of worry, his eyes finally flicking to look over at his friend.

Mai chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I'm not sure. I don't think it's the butterflies themselves, but what they might symbolize to her. You saw the letters didn't you? I think they're names. And when I asked her about them, she just told me that they were for something she supported and that they were all dead so it didn't matter anyway. Could you have any idea what she meant by that?"

Yasu shook his head. "No, I have no idea. I was going to ask her about the butterflies later after dinner," he explained, bringing his knee up to rest his chin on it and wrap his arms around it. He looked nothing like he usually did. He looked like a grown man.

"If I find out before you what they really mean, you'll be the first I tell," Mai promised solemnly, catching one of the fluttering leaves in her hand and closing her fist around it gently, "I just hope she's alright. Can you…" She trailed off, not sure how to phrase the question or whether it would be offensive. She knew that since it was Yasu he'd normally find it funny, but in light of the serious atmosphere, she wasn't sure how he would react.

"Could I…?" he prompted, a sly grin curling up the edges of his lips. It looked forced.

"Can you check Emma's arm later?"

Yasu's eyebrows came together in a look of confusion that looked unnatural on his face. "Why?"

Mai sighed. "Earlier today when I was talking to Emma, she squeezed her arm and started bleeding. Maybe I'm being a worrywart, but I'm afraid it might get infected or something."

Yasu let out a bark of laughter. "No, your mothering instincts are just taking over. Trust me, you've been treating me, Naru, and even Lin and Ayako like children lately. The only one who you don't is Madoka. I suspect that's just because she's a mother as well," he explained with a more natural grin. He clapped her gently on the shoulder.

"Oh great, that makes me feel so much better. I've been treating my boyfriend like a child, fantastic. No wonder he hasn't come home in a couple days," she said sarcastically, throwing her hands up in the air and letting them fall to her sides.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Naru loves it. He probably gets off on it," Yasu said.

"Ew! Yasu, that is so gross!" Mai screamed, her face darkening to a deep crimson, "You are such a pervert. I have no idea how Emma puts up with you!" She took a swipe at her laughing friend, but he jumped to his feet and dance out of her reach.

His laughter cut off abruptly as he turned to face the backyard once more. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "Don't worry, I'll ask her," he murmured.

Mai felt the heavy mood settle back over her immediately. "Okay," she said, looking down at her shoes.

…..

"Where's Mai?" Naru asked to the room at large after dinner, sitting in front of the monitors with a book open across his thighs. He was paying little attention to it seeing as he was in search of one pregnant female. His eyes darted from screen to screen searching for just a flash of the girl's skirt. "Honestly, how hard is it to find one pregnant girl? Christ, she's nearly the size of a blimp," he muttered under his breath.

Monk still heard him and let out a snort. "She's going to kill you when she finds out you said that about her," he warned Naru.

"And I'll kill any of you who dare to tell her," Naru shot back matter-of-factly, his eyes still flitting across the screens, "Now where's my girlfriend?"

"I thought you were pissed at her," Ayako said from her chair, scrolling through the pictures on her phone. She turned her phone sideways bringing the screen close to her face before turning it back the right way and continuing with what she'd been doing.

Naru made a semi-affirmative noise in the back of his throat. "That doesn't mean I don't still worry about her. She is pregnant, and in the house of her abusive ex. I'm not a complete dick you know," he said, standing up to get a better look at one screen before sitting back down. "Now I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me where she is before all hell breaks loose."

Masako sighed loudly before Monk or Ayako could open their mouths for a smart comeback. "She said she was going to go take a shower and then go look for Emma. She said there was something she needed to ask her," she said, closing her book softly and standing up, "Now, I am on my way to bed. Goodnight."

"Hold on, Masako, I'll walk you to your room," John said, jumping to his feet as she grabbed the door handle.

Masako's cheeks took on a soft pink tint. She tried to suppress the smile that threatened to break out across her face. "Thank you," she said, letting him open the door for her. The door closed behind them softly.

The group was silent for a long moment before someone finally said something. "Could they just get it on already? There's so much sexual tension coming off of those two that I can taste it."

"What? Like you and Monk aren't even though you've clearly fucked each other numerous times? You two are like bunnies on crack," Naru said, the moment she'd finished her whine. Monk and Lin burst out laughing though Lin was quieter, it was obvious.

"Why you-" Ayako began to threaten, but she was cut off by a high-pitched screech.

**Well, there you go, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Naru and Ayako's little spat. I thought the crack bunnies was pretty creative. What about you? I'm sorry this chapter was shorter than the other. I'm hoping the next one will be longer. Review please! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Pain

**My brother got me sick so I apologize in advance for any/all typos. I hope this chapter is interesting, and I'm here for any of you who are combating what Emma is going through. I hope you enjoy this chapter (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 5: Pain

Mai wandered idly down the hall staring around at the decor. Antique weapons, both western and native, lined the walls turning up every few meters. Thick, sound absorbing curtains hung over the windows, blocking out what little sunlight the clouds were letting shine through. She hadn't seen any cameras in this part of the house for a while.

"I think… I'm lost," Mai murmured to herself, rounding a corner and coming to a screeching halt. A crimson blush crawled up her cheeks and she backtracked immediately, watching the scene play out before her from around the corner, only one of her soft brown eyes visible.

Down the hall, Yasu had Emma pinned against a wall, her arms above her head. They were locked in what seemed to be a battle for dominance, or maybe a battle for escape. Tears streamed down Emma's face as she fought to break her wrists free of Yasu's grasp.

Emma broke the kiss, a sob escaping her lips. "Please, please don't be mad at me. Please don't hate me," she pleaded, all of the fight going out of her. If Yasu hadn't been holding her against the wall she would have slid to the floor.

Yasu was quiet for a long moment, staring down at his sobbing girlfriend. He pulled her tight against his chest, stroking her blonde locks gently. "I'd never be able to hate you," he told her, kissing her one the forehead. He pulled away from her, placing her back on the wall. When she was stable he let go of her shoulders, grabbing her arm instead.

"No, please don't look," Emma said, slapping her hand down around her wrist to keep him from pushing her sleeve up. Her shoulders hitched, her hand squeezing her wrist painfully, but it made no difference.

Yasu pried her fingers open carefully and slid her sleeve all the way up to her shoulder. Mai stifled a gasp of surprise and horror. Under and up past the butterflies, deep scars crisscrossed Emma's pale skin. Some were faded while others were obviously brand new, then there were cuts that were new or were healing. Blood saturated Hello Kitty Band-Aids covering a thin cut in the crease of her elbow.

Yasu stared at her arm. Lowering his head, he dusted kisses all up and down her arm taking care to press his lips to each and every scar as he passed them.

"I'm sorry. I… I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't stop once I started again," Emma whispered, her eyes closed to him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She whispered those words over and over again like a mantra.

Trailing back up her arm for a third time, Yasu didn't stop at Emma's shoulder this time. He kissed her fully again, stopping her apology in its tracks. When he pulled away, he cupped her face and looked her in the eyes. "I'm not mad at you. I just wished you'd had the chance to come to me. I wish you hadn't been pushed to this point," he told her, pushing hair out of her face, "I'll always love you no matter what, and I'll support you any way I can."

Emma looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering. With a shaking hand, she slid her hand into her pocket and pulled out a black sharpie. She held it up to him. "Can you draw a butterfly on my arm for the Butterfly Project? I'm hoping it'll help me," she said, her words uncertain. Her eyes darted down when he just stared down at the pen. "Sorry, it was a stupid idea." She started to tuck the pen back into her pocket, but Yasu grabbed her hand.

"No, it's not a stupid idea. I'll do it especially if it helps you. This butterfly will be extra special." He pushed the sleeve up on her right arm to expose smooth flesh that was marred by only a few scars. He placed a feather-light kiss on the inside of her wrist before uncapping the pen with his teeth and drawing the butterfly.

Mai stepped back slowly from where she'd been hiding, turning and tiptoeing down the hallway. "I guess deep inside, there is a serious person inside Yasu," she said to herself softly, "I hope Emma is alright." She sighed loudly and rubbed her eyes. "Dang it, I'm still lost. What am I going to do? I don't have my cell on me." She rounded a few more corners, getting herself even more lost than she had been.

"Need some help, bitch?" a bitter male voice asked her, his words slurring together.

Mai spun around so quickly that the baby got irritated. He kicked her in the kidney, making her wince. Ira was in front of her now, a good distance down the hall. Even from where she stood she could smell the sickly sweet scent of alcohol coating him, making her stomach roll. She fought the urge to vomit.

"Aw, cat got your tongue?" he sneered, his hackles rising in an instant.

Recovering from her pain and shock, Mai stood straight and glared daggers at her ex. "No, just a douche-bag who can't seem to get the picture," she shot back, pushing her hands behind her and groping for something, anything to use against him if he tried anything. Her hand closed around the top of a vase.

"Oooooh," Ikki said, waving his hands around like he was scared, a liquor bottle clutched in his left hand, "Big words coming from a nine month pregnant whore." He took a slow, staggering step towards her nearly falling over sideways in the process.

"Like you're any better," Mai said, her voice steady, but her insides shaking horribly, "At least I'm only with one man. You screw everything and anything in a skirt as long it's around the ages of 15-25." She backed away slowly down the hall, carefully placing her foot with each step.

"Oh, I am better than you. I've always been better than you, and nothing will ever change that fact," he snarled, taking a couple quick strides toward her.

Her retreat quickened. Her foot snagged on the upturned corner of a rug. She went down hard, curling her body around her swollen belly and turning onto her back, protecting her unborn child. The vase shattered underneath her. No pain radiated through her back, but she felt the impact and the air rush from her lungs.

"Crap!" Mai let out in a gasp still curled around her stomach. She pushed herself up on her elbows to see Ikki staggering towards her. His feet crossed over each other several time, but he didn't fall.

"Leave me alone," Mai warned, wrapping her fingers around a large, sharp piece of pottery. The piece cut sharply into her hand. She felt the skin break, but the pain still hadn't registered. She brandished it in front of her, slipping backwards to try and get away from him.

Ikki laughed maniacally, his head thrown back. "What exactly is that going to do to me?" he asked snidely, taking a swing out of the bottle in his hand before continuing, "I'm perfect. You cannot hurt me, but here's an idea, why don't you go and give it to my dear baby sister. She just loves those sharp objects. She loves to bleed. She loves the pain."

"Stay away from me," Mai said, her voice trembling with the force of an earthquake, "I-I mean it. I'm not afraid to hurt you." Her false bravado was cracking, her hands shaking with her voice.

"And you want to know who taught her to love that pain? Me!" he cried proudly, thrusting his thumb into his sternum for emphasis, "I taught her to love the pain. I taught her to use anything sharp to relieve the pain, and look at her now. A disgrace, a scarred up freak. I'm going to teach you the same thing." His voice dropped to a menacing whisper, standing almost completely over her. He stared down at her with those cold, steel grey eyes, turning her blood to ice.

"Th-there are a lot of people here who will rip you apart if you touch me in any way," Mai said, her back hitting a door. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to go.

"Well, at least I'll get some enjoyment out of it," he whispered, his lips close to her ear. His psychotic laughter echoed quietly in her ear. She could hear the smile in his laughter. "I'm going to kill this baby. I'm going to rip it out of you if it's the last thing I do." His too sweet breath floated across her face making her gag. His hand caressed her stomach, his nails digging into her side.

She let out an earsplitting scream that rang through the house like a fire alarm.

**Well, there you go. I hope this one was okay, not too depressing or creepy. I need some professional help (that's not funny, sorry) Anyway, the good this is (I guess) was that the part with Ikki actually kind of freaked me out. Is that bad?**

**Oh! Btw, kudos to any of you who actually know what the Butterfly Project is. I am a supporter and I'm there for all of you who are participating in this and also those who aren't (:**

**Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6: Defending

**I hope this chapter is rather satisfying. I would have had more chapters up if I wasn't such a lazy ass. Sorry :P I'll see you guys maybe tomorrow with another chapter if I don't have any homework.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt and never will sadly**

Chapter 6: Defending

Mai screamed as loud as she could. Her voice carried through the entire house as it usually did. Even with such a huge house her voice still reached Ikki's parents on the other side of the house. Suddenly, Ikki let out a shout of pain and his weight was thrown off of her.

Without hesitation, Mai scrambled down the wall, eyes closed tight. She didn't stop until she knocked over a table. The hall went eerily quiet as she cut off her scream. She pried her eyes open slowly to see who had come to her rescue. What she found had her gasping in surprise.

Veronica stood over her brother, glaring down at him. "Stay away from her, you swine," she spat. Her eyes weren't her usual shade of hard grey. Instead, they were a dark chocolate brown. She kicked her brother hard in the ribs making him groan.

The brown drained from her eyes leaving them their natural color. She gasped, blinking rapidly and backed away from her brother. "Ikki? How…" she started to ask when her eyes fell on Mai, "Mai? What happened? Are you alright?" Veronica hurried over to her, helping her to stand.

Mai was speechless. Her mouth gaped open as she stared at Veronica who had her arm held in a tight grasp. "Come on, before he wakes up," Veronica said, pulling on her arm sharply. Mai didn't budge an inch.

"Mai!" came several voices from down the hall, calling frantically from Mai. One voice stuck out like a soar thumb causing her to spin around towards the voices, an expectant look on her face.

Once again, she spun too fast causing her unborn child to ram his knee into her spine. Mai staggered. Veronica caught her under the arm again, pulling her up straight. "Are you alright? He didn't do anything to you did he?" she asked, concern laced through her voice. She looked Mai up and down, particularly checking her stomach for any damage.

"No, he didn't get a chance to thanks you to," Mai said with a slightly confused smile. She wanted to know so badly what had caused the complete 180 personality of the female who stood in front of her now. It was only a couple months ago that Mai was basically her worst enemy in their struggle for Naru's affections, though it hadn't been much of a struggle for Mai.

The others reached her now, Naru, Lin, Ayako and Monk from one end, John and Masako from another, and Emma and Yasu from yet another direction. Mai hadn't realized that she'd backed herself into a three-way hallway. She could have run away at any time. She sighed to herself, cursing her slow thinking.

Veronica gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything. I don't even remember coming this way. Didn't I just forget that I'd walked down this hallway?" She was talking to herself now, staring off down one of the empty halls, her eyes talking on a flatness.

"Mai, are you alright?" Naru asked, glancing towards Veronica and frowning. He smoothed his hands up and down her arms like he was trying to make sure that she was in one piece.

"I think Ikki is more hurt than I am," Mai relented, not mention the deep cut and all the smaller ones that were decorating her hands that had begun to throb uncontrollably. She closed her hands into tight fists trying to hide the cuts.

Naru's eyes narrowed. They swept towards an unconscious Ikki lying curled up on the floor in a spreading lake of alcohol. Monk and Yasu crouched next to him, poking at his still form. Emma stood beside her boyfriend, hand clutching tightly to his.

"What happened?" Masako asked, her eyes zeroing in on the slow trickle of blood making its way from the fold of Mai's fist. She raised her eyes and eyebrow to Mai, waiting for an explanation, but willing to wait for it.

Mai frowned and placed a finger to her lips. "Well, it's like this…" Mai began, but Ayako cut her off.

"He attacked you," she said simply, nudging Ikki with the toe of her boot. You'd think he was a deadly virus.

"No. Yes. Well, you see, he's completely hammered, probably worse than hammered, and he was quite pissed when he found me. I'm lost if you can't tell-" She was babbling, but she couldn't stop the flow of information from her mouth. "And I ended up tripping and falling, and he-"

"Mai, please shut up," Emma said turning to her, her mouth set in a hard line, "My brother's always angry. My brother a complete douche bag. You have no idea what he has done since we've come back. I don't even know everything. Mai, please, don't try to defend him. We all know what he tried to do and you can't change our minds."

Mai's mouth snapped shut, and she glanced down at the floor. "I wasn't trying to defend him. I was…"

"Mai, stop, we all know you. Even if you hate someone, even if they try to hurt you, you will stand up for them. It's your nature so please, just stop talking," Emma said, tears shining in her green eyes. She turned from the group, letting go of Yasu's hand, and walked away. She kicked her brother as hard as she could as she passed him causing her toe to ache, but she wouldn't say anything.

The group watched her leave, silent. Finally, Masako took hold of Mai's arm, pulling her from Naru's grasp. "Naru, I'm going to take Mai back to the room," she said turning and pulling Mai down the hall even before Naru answered. "You need to tell me what happened to your hands, and I need to clean and bandage them."

"Keep her in your guy's room or in Base. We'll take care of Ikki and the clients," Naru called back to them over his shoulder, not turning to look at them. Kyoko and Haru ran down the hallways past them.

"What happened?!" Haru shouted angrily, glaring at Naru and ignoring the two females disappearing around a corner.

…..

Mai flushed the toilet, sighing loudly. "Kid, I am very tired of this morning sickness and messed up sleep schedule. Are you ready to come out yet?" she asked the bathroom, rubbing her stomach gently. She fought the grin that pulled at the corners of her mouth. In the end she was grinning like a fool.

She opened the bathroom and stepped into the hallway. She pursed her lips before blowing air up her face making her bangs flip, and frowned. "So what are we going to do now?" she asked her stomach, raising her eyebrows. She wandered down the hallway with no particular place to go.

Passing a door that was cracked open, she slowed to a halt at the sobbing emanating from somewhere deep in the room. Running a hand through her hair, Mai sighed and stepped to the door rapping the wood softly. "Hello? Is everything alright in there? Can I come in?" There came no response so she nudged the door open, stepping into the room.

The room had everything in shades of blues, purples and silvers. The bed spread was a shiny silver with purple stitches creating dragons across its surface. The pillows were covered in the same material. The carpet was a light, greying shade of blue and the curtains followed the same pattern in a darker shade. The desk was worn and colored and ashy blue, something close to the wet ash shade of Yasu's hair. The room was lit by a single lap on the corner of the desk. Papers and books littered every surface including the bed. The papers were covered in curvy blue ink. It looked like someone had been writing a story.

Mai stooped to scoop up one of the papers and strained her eyes to read to pretty script. "_I bleed. I bleed the color red, just like everyone else. The pain leaks from my body, flowing with my blood, staining white granite floors. The pressure within my chest lessens just the tiniest bit, allowing me to breathe as I hadn't been able to do. I draw another line_-" Mai stopped reading, a wave of vertigo smashing into her.

"Oh Emma," she whispered. Her head snapped up as she heard another sob. It floated to her from another cracked door. Cream colored light spilled from the crack, lighting the carpet and papers.

"Emma? Is that you? What's wrong?" Mai asked, stepping close to the door and gently pushing it open. She found Emma sitting in the tub. She had a fluffy pillow behind her head and numerous blankets piled under, around and on top of her. It looked like she had built herself a nest. A laptop sat on her knees and tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she had tissues clutched in her hand.

"Uh, Emma?" Mai said again, raising an eyebrow at her friend and trying not to grin.

Emma jumped and glanced at Mai. "Oh, hey, Mai. I'm just watching this movie from America called 'No Strings Attached'. It's so sad right now. Before that, I was watching some movie where the guy ended up dying in the end," she said with a laugh, making no move to wipe the tears from her eyes,

Mai said, sinking down onto the toilet seat. "Don't do that to me. You scared me really bad," she said, resting her head in her hands since she couldn't reach her knees.

"Sorry," Emma said, sniffing.

Mai noticed that Emma's eyes were once again their natural true blue. "Hey, when are you going to dye your hair back to brown? I really liked that color. Can you keep the colored contacts out too?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Sorry about that. I just did it to piss off my father. As you can see, it pissed off more than just my father. It was fantastic," she explained with a laugh, rubbing at her face with the heels of her hands, "We can die it now if you want."

Mai thought for a moment. "Well, I've got nothing else to do while I'm awake in the middle of the night. Might as well," she said with a shrug, grinning widely.

**Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter should have some more ghosty activity. Review please! :D**


	7. Chapter 7: First Message

**Sorry for the shortness, still haven't figured out my strategy for making them longer. Enjoy anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt ;-;**

Chapter 7: First Message

"So, why blonde hair and green contacts?" Mai asked, staring down at Emma's quickly darkening hair. She ran her dye coated and gloved fingers through her friend's hair, watching with increasing interest as the blonde was swallowed up by chocolate brown.

Emma thought for a moment, pursing her lips at her feet. "Well, I guess the only reason I really have is because my mother's hair is blonde and her eyes are green. I always wanted to be just like her when I was younger. I wanted to look exactly like her and I guess I still do. She's beautiful, and I guess I just wish I could be beautiful too," she explained, a note of shame creeping in behind her words.

"What are you talking about? You are beautiful even if you don't look like your mother," Mai said, leaning around Emma to grin at her.

Emma smiled sheepishly. "Really? You really think so?" she asked, a soft blush coloring her cheeks.

"Yes, of course!" Mai exclaimed, shaking her head at her friend, "If you don't believe me, just go ask your boyfriend or Monk or Masako. They'll all tell you the same thing." Mai nodded matter-of-factly, pulling her hands away and observing her handy work. She found she was rather good at dying hair. "Now you have to wait… thirty minutes, right?"

"Yeah, and then I can wash it out," Emma said, staring down at the box in her hands. She sighed and set it on the counter top.

"So I have another question," Mai said, lowering herself onto the edge of the tub being careful of how she sat. Her unborn child shifted restlessly within her womb, rubbing his foot against her ribs. She grimaced and rubbed her stomach in an effort to calm him.

"Shoot for it," Emma said, smiling.

It was Mai's turn to purse her lips. She looked back behind her at the mound of blankets and pillows and the laptop stationed on top of them within the bathtub. "What's up with all of the pillows and blankets in your tub? Were you planning on sleeping here?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Why?"

"Well, I feel the most comfortable in here. Most people wouldn't think to look in the bathtub for someone," she explained with a shrug, "Plus, I don't have to worry about rolling over and falling out of my bed and onto all my papers in the middle of the night. It's like my own little nest." She grinned.

"Ah, I see," Mai said in an unconvincing tone before relenting, "Actually, no I don't, but if you're happy with it then I'm cool with it too." The pair smiled at each other.

…..

They had just finished washing out the dye in Emma's hair and drying it when the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall outside. Emma jumped to her feet, frantically jumping to shut off the lights and pushed the door to almost closed. She put her fingers to her lips, looking right at Mai. Mai nodded and moved to stand against the wall beside the door. Emma moved to the other wall of the door and peered out.

A crash echoed from the room and Mai jumped. "Emma, where are you? I know you're in here somewhere!" came Haru's angry and drunken voice. Another crash echoed followed by the ripping of papers. "Come out from wherever you're hiding!"

A shudder rocked Emma's body. She was terrified. She didn't want Mai witnessing what could happen when her father was drunk and mad. She hated even thinking about it, but she set her face in stone, staring out the crack of the door. She couldn't see him from where she stood, but she could definitely hear his drunken rage, just as Mai could.

"Get out here now or I swear I'll-" His words abruptly cut off to be replaced by a low gurgle.

Mai shot Emma a questioning look full of fear. The glance she received back held only the same answers as hers. Taking a deep breath, Emma reached for the door handle, but Mai grabbed her wrist, shaking her head fearfully.

Emma smiled reassuringly though she felt anything but reassured, prying Mai's fingers from her wrist. Taking another deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob and slipped through a gap only as wide as her body. "Dad? Are you in here?"

Silence stretched long and undisturbed for several heartbeats. "No! Stay away from me! Don't you dare fucking touch me! Stay away!" Haru shouted angrily, his words slurring together. The sound of skin connecting with skin cracked through the room followed by hurried footsteps and crunching paper. The door slammed only milliseconds later.

"Emma, are you alright?" Mai cried, flinging the bathroom door open. Emma stood in the middle of the room, her head turned towards the bathroom door. Light brown strands covered her eyes. "Are you alright?" Mai rushed towards Emma, her mothering instincts kicking in as she brushed hair out of her friend's face.

One side of Emma's face was bright cherry red. Purple was already overtaking the red and it hadn't even been two months. Her eyes were closed and her face was scrunched in pain. She let out a shaky breath, opening them to look at Mai. "I… I think it's time that I gathered up all my stuff and moved to Yasu's room for the time being," she told Mai with only a strained, slightly joking smile.

"But Yasu is sharing a room with Monk and John isn't he?" Mai asked, her eyebrows drawing together.

Emma giggled. "Oh Mai, you may be a soon-to-be mother, but you still haven't got much common sense," she said, "We'll just move into one of the other many rooms in this house. Probably the empty one next to theirs."

Mai's eyebrows drew closer together. "Hey, that was rude," she muttered disdainfully, "Just remember to use protection or you may end up pregnant. It's not as fun as people make it out to be." She grinned then, slowly getting into a crouch as she began to pick up papers from the floor.

"Aw, you're no fun," Emma teased before raising an eyebrow at Mai, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"You said you were going to gather up your stuff. I'm assuming you'd like to take these with you," Mai answered with a shrug and a smirk, "Now look who's not using their common sense."

Emma scoffed, turning toward her desk with a preppy flip of her hair. She snorted at herself as she began to stack her papers. It was quiet for a long time after that. They were three-fourths of the way through collecting all of the papers when Emma made a noise of surprise that was cross-bred with a noise of annoyance.

Mai straightened, looking quizzically at her friend. "What was that? It sounded like a feral cat."

"Well, looks like we were left a message. I don't think it was from my dad either. No, he left that on my face," Emma answered, trailing her fingers down her cheek as she pointed at what had been carved into her desk.

In scratchy handwriting, the words, "_Get out of this house NOW, or you'll be next_," were carved into the otherwise silvery surface of Emma's desk.

Mai sighed loudly, rubbing at her temples where a headache had begun to pulse. "I guess this means we have to go wake up Naru. Come on, let's get finished and then go wake the grouch," she said, pulling Emma away from the desk with her stack of papers. A chill slid down her back.

It felt as if she were being watched.

**Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now we're starting to see deeper into Emma's situation, and it isn't looking pretty. I'm hoping to get more ghosty activity in the next chapter. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) will be upon us in the next month so I'm going to try and finish up this story before then. Look out for my new (possibly multi-chapter) Hetalia fic where America is turned into a girl! Oh no! xD**

**Review please! They keep me going through the week! :D**


	8. Chapter 8: Calm

**Here's the next chapter guys! Sorry for the late update and shortness of the chapter. I'm hoping the next one will be longer with the couple things I'm going to add. Look forward to it ;D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 8: Calm

Mai stepped quietly into Naru and Lin's shared bedroom. She tiptoed over to Naru's bed and looked down on him. He looked peaceful in his sleep, not perpetually worried like he's been as of late. Sighing in his sleep, he turned to face the ceiling. He mumbled something and sighed again.

Mai leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. "I love you even if you're mad at me. Just know that," she whispered against his lips, her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his. She sighed. She didn't want to wake him up when he was sleeping so peacefully. "Wake up sleepy head. Something happened to me and Emma. We need to talk to you."

Within the next second, she began pulling away, but a cold familiar hand caught her by the back of the neck, pulling her back down. "I'm awake," he murmured in a sleep soaked voice, "What happened?" He stared at her with those impenetrable blue eyes.

She sighed, a slow smile curling her lips. "You know, I'm feeling much better about the situation suddenly. You can go back to sleep," she said, only being half-serious. The hand clamped on the back of her neck kept her from moving even an inch away.

"No, I don't think so. What happened?" he asked more sternly, his voice clear of sleep. Behind Mai, Lin shifted in his sleep. She glanced over her shoulder at him, hoping he hadn't woken up. He hadn't, but Emma stood in the doorway.

"Hey lovebirds, hurry up so we can get the new rooms settled," Emma whispered loudly in a teasing voice, beckoning them. She rolled her eyes, and turned back to press her back against the wall beside the door, fidgeting with a lock of her newly dyed hair.

"We'll explain once we get into the base," Mai told Naru, looking back down at him, "We've already made tea. If you don't get up soon it'll be cold." She shrugged and this time when she pulled away, he let her go.

Naru sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, and standing. "Let's go then." He started towards the door, but Mai stopped him with an embarrassed squeak.

"Wait. Don't you want to put a shirt on or something?" she asked, taking in his naked and toned torso, tracing his willowy muscles with her eyes. Her fingers burned with remembered heat when it had been her hands tracing his body and not her eyes.

Naru glanced down at himself. "Not if I'm coming to bed afterwards," he said with an unconcerned shrug, stringing his fingers with his, and pulling her along behind him. He ghosted out into the hall, closing the door with an almost inaudible click.

Emma whistled, looking him up and down. "Well then, I wasn't expecting you to look like this. I like," she said with a grin, staring unashamedly at his torso. Her eyes traveled down, only glancing at his black pajama pants. "Wow, you even wear black to bed." She giggled, and turned towards base.

Mai trailed behind the pair, her face heating with embarrassment for her friend.

…..

"Why were you walking around alone?" Naru immediately asked once Mai and Emma had finished their story. He sat on the arm of the couch, somehow still looking extremely stern while having a pink teacup suspended halfway between his mouth and the saucer.

Mai threw her hands up in exasperation. "Through that whole thing the one thing you get out of it is that I was walking around by myself?" she said, holding her hand out to the side in confusion.

"No, I got the rest of it, but I want to know why you were walking around by yourself," he elaborated calmly, pressing the cup to his lips and taking a sip.

"I already told you why I was out by myself," she retorted, sitting up straighter in an attempt to preserve the dignity that he was slowly chipping away at.

Naru opened his mouth to retort, but a giggle from Emma cut him off. "You guys are so cute," she said, a hand placed over her mouth muffling the continuous stream of giggles, "You guys are such a perfect couple that it's not even funny."

"Then why are you laughing?" Mai asked stonily, glaring at her friend.

"Because it's hilarious!" Emma cried, bending over in laughter as she caught a glimpse of the way her friends were staring at her. They were giving her almost identical expressions, and their defensive postures were too closely related.

A soft blush began creeping up Mai's cheeks. She turned from Emma with a huff. "Can we just get back to what we were talking about?"

Emma gasped, her laughter suddenly cutting off. "Le gasp! Mai actually wanting to get to work? What had this world come to?" she asked dramatically, pretending a faint and falling on the couch beside her friend.

Mai shot her a glare, sticking her tongue out at her. "I like to get to work sometimes. Like now when I'm starting to fall asleep."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Pregnant woman need sleep," she said in a butchered accent, rolling her eyes, "So, how are we going to split up the rooms? Keep them the way they are or pair off everyone? I'm planning on taking over a bed in a room no matter what we choose." She picked up a cookie from the tray on the coffee table, chomping down on the poor defenseless snack with a loud crunch.

Naru set his empty cup on the coffee table, resting his hands on his knees as he thought. "Probably pair off. That always seems to work the best for us and is the most comfortable in these types of situations, but we'll probably all stay in two to three rooms, about two pairs per room," he responded, his eyes trained on a spot on the coffee table.

Both Mai and Emma frowned. They didn't like that plan. "Why do we have to share rooms with other pairs?" Mai asked, glancing at Emma and catching her eye.

"Yeah, I don't like conducting my business with an audience," Emma replied with an all too serious expression. Mai snorted, turning her head away and pressing a hand to her mouth.

Naru sighed, rubbing his forehead. "There will be nothing going on in the bedrooms. The extra roommates is for extra protection, especially for the two of you," he explained, his voice making the point that he felt like he was talking to a pair of idiots, "If you refuse to share then I'll send the two of you and Masako and Ayako back home."

"Aw, you're no fun," Emma pouted, pursing her lips and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're choice. Either cooperate or leave. I don't need either of you getting hurt," he said, shrugging, "For now, you two will just go back to the girl's room. We'll figure the rest out tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" Emma and Mai shouted enthusiastically, saluting him.

Naru stared at them before rolling his eyes. He sighed in again. This was going to be one interesting case. "_I just can't wait to see what kind of trouble these two get themselves into_," he thought sarcastically to himself.

**Well, there you go. Sorry for the late update and how short it is. I'm hoping I'll have more time to post this week seeing as it's almost midterms for me. Well, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter anyway! Reviews are love so leave me much love please! :D**


	9. Chapter 9: Vigil

**Well here's the next chapter! I have the PSAT Saturday morning so I'm hoping to have chapter 10 up by Friday since I'm just going to come home and pass out after the test on Saturday. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 9: Vigil

_Mai wrapped her hands around her knees since her stomach was too big to get her arms around them, staring up at the ceiling of the girls' room. Emma slept soundly beside her, sharing Masako's bed._

_Darkness surrounded her in a thick coating, obscuring everything except for the neon blue numbers of an alarm clock. The numbers that were flickering erratically, unable to settle on a specific time._

_Eyebrows conjoining in the middle of her brow, Mai stared at the clock perplexed. She slid from her bed carefully. The moment her feet met with the cold wooden floor, everything around her fell away into a pool of black. Disoriented by the sudden lack of well… everything, she began tilting towards what should have been the floor._

_Strong arms caught her under the arms, keeping her aloft. "Whoa there Mai, you alright?" that familiar voice that made her heart skip a beat every time she heard it said, "You have to be more careful. Just because you're dreaming doesn't mean that your physical body can't sustain some of the same damage you get here." He pulled her up straight, grinning down at her._

"_Gene! It's great to see you again!" Mai shouted, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's twin brother, squeezing him tightly. Her stomach pressed into his, and her unborn child took that as a cue to give him a hard kick._

_Gene gasped, staring down between them. "Wow, he or she is a strong little bugger aren't they?" he asked with a childish grin, crouching before her. He pressed his hands to her stomach, waiting for another nudge. It came only moments later, the child pushing his hands off of its resting place. "I guess he doesn't like people touching his mother." He removed his hands, grinning up at her._

"_No, not really. He even pushed off Emma's and Masako's hands when they went to rub my stomach. The only people he doesn't mind are Naru and me," she explained with a small, proud smile as her hands smoothed over her stomach._

_Gene smirked, trying not to grin. "Why do I have that feeling that Naru's already influencing that little one?"_

"_Because he is," Mai replied instantly, her grin widening into a tooth exposing smile. On instinct, she glanced behind her, her smile falling into a small grin. Behind her she found Hikaru perched in top of Daisuke's head standing in front of a young doe. It peered up at her with wide, warm grey eyes. She blinked up at Mai, her ears twitching. "Looks like we have some guests."_

_Tetsuo the owl, Gene's animal representative, swooped down to join the party, alighting gracefully on the doe's back. He tilted his head to the side, staring into the face of the creature he stood on._

"_Tetsuo, don't be a jerk," Gene reprimanded, holding his arm out, but the owl stayed on his perch. He moved back away from the doe's face and settled on her shoulders._

_Mai sighed, happy. She wished should could just stay there forever with a few others added, but she knew that wasn't the reason she was there. No, the reason she was there would certainly be much more morbid._

"_So, what are we going to see today?" she asked with another sigh, this time more tired than anything. She dropped her had down finding it instantly filled by a course-furred head. A corner of her mouth quirked upward as she looked down at Hikaru._

_Gene gave his own disparaging sigh. "I don't know," he admitted, "We'll see. I just hope that it's somewhat tame."_

_Mai rolled her eyes. "When are the really ever?" she asked with a sad smile._

"_Never," Gene relented, staring down at his shoes sullenly._

…_.._

Naru stood in the doorway of the girl's shared room, staring at Mai. After the girls had gone to bed, he'd been unable to do so himself, the prickling feeling of unease keeping his body on full alert. He'd gotten back out of bed only two hours after they'd all decided to go to bed. He'd found himself standing in their doorway, listening to soft even breathing.

Since then, he hadn't moved a muscle, acting as vigial, and his muscle had since stiffened and began to ache. He refused to move. He felt, knew, something was amiss and he refused to leave Mai unprotected.

"Being a little overprotective are we?" a voice asked from behind Naru.

Naru didn't need to turn around to know that it was Monk who stood behind him. Just the presence of the man would have alerted Naru to who it was. He didn't answer as a response in either movement or verbally.

Monk chuckled, coming to lean beside him, his eyes trained on the redheaded miko who had her back to the door. "There's something about this house that just keeps you on edge. Or maybe it's just the people who inhabit its inside," Monk mused quietly, her arms crossed over his chest in an almost exact replica of Naru's own stance.

"You got that right," came yet another voice from down the hall. Again, Naru didn't need to turn to see who it was. It was too dark to see more than a foot in front of you anyway. It was that kind of pre-dawn dark that was darker than the usual nighttime black. Monk on the other hand did turn to glance at the newcomer.

Yasu sidled up followed by a sleepy John clutching the Bible and an ornate rosary to his chest. He rubbed sleep from his eyes, staring up at Monk with bleary blue eyes. "We woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so we came to check if everything was alright," the young priest explained, peeking between Naru and Monk into the room beyond at the girls, his eyes focusing on the soundly sleeping medium.

"So, I'm assuming we all had a similar idea?" Yasu asked as even he glanced over Naru's shoulder over at Emma sharing a bed with Masako, "Yeah know, seeing as were all standing outside the girls' bedroom watching them sleep like a bunch of stalkers." Monk and John let out a short chuckled through their noses.

"Basically," Naru muttered, his posture loosening slowly with every passing moment of the other men standing with him.

"Except for Lin it seems," Monk pointed out, looking up and down the hallway as if he'd see the tall Chinese man walking towards them, "Is he still sleeping?" His eyes quickly returned to miko, frowning.

Naru struggled to pull his eyes away from Mai, blinking for the first time in what felt like hours at Monk. He glanced down at the man's hands noticing he held his own set of beads close to his body. He looked back at Mai, his stance finally crumpling as he pointed down the hallway to the closed door of the base. "He's been in the base for nearly as long as I've been standing here, watching the cameras."

Monk raised an eyebrow, looking back at the door. "You didn't wake him up right?" he asked, watching Naru. None of them would put it past the guy to wake up Lin for extra security.

Naru shot him an ugly glare. "No, I did not. He woke up after me and had come to check on everything. He decided to stay in base," he said in a calm voice, turning back to the room.

Monk laughed nervously. "I think we should head to base and let the girls sleep," John proposed as Ayako flipped onto her stomach and Emma shot out a strong leg to kick the end board of the bed. It rattled violently with a creaking noise making the four in the doorway jump.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Yasu said, trying not to burst out laughing at his girlfriend. After the kick, she'd flipped onto her stomach and let her arm and leg hang over the edge of the bed. "Hey, is Emma's hair a different color?" he asked suddenly, staring over Naru's shoulder at her.

"She dyed it," Naru immediately said, turning to look at the others. "Let's go. If you'd do a blessing John," he prompted, stepping aside to let the blonde through.

"Of course," John replied, all too happy to help keep the girls safe. In a quiet voice, he said a prayer. He turned back, beaming happily. "There, all done. The ghost shouldn't be able to touch them as long as they are in here."

"Thanks, John," both Monk and Yasu said, clapping the Australian on the back. He received a nod from Naru that caught him by surprise.

"I'll do for now until we can find something more permanent," Naru said, closing the door softly. Before it closed, they all glanced back at the four women inside.

Monk sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why do I still feel uneasy?" he asked solemnly.

The others didn't reply.

**Well, there you go. I hope you all liked it. I actually really, really liked writing this chapter. I just love writing the guys all protective and stuff. I think it's so cute! Anyway, next chapter we'll get to see the rest of the dream and exactly why the guys had a valid reason to be worried. Tune in next week for chapter 10 :P Review please! They are love and prompt me to get through my usually crappy week :D**

**P.S.- For those of you also reading my Hetalia fanfic "**_Genderbent_**", look out for the next chapter. It should be up soon :P**


	10. Chapter 10: Clean as a Whistle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 10: Clean as a Whistle

_Hikaru and Daisuke started snarling. Tetsuo took flight with an agitated squeak. The doe backed up behind Mai while Daisuke and Hikaru charged at something behind Gene. Gene swung around as they rushed past him, following their movements as smoothly as a bird._

_The thick darkness around them shivered, melting away to reveal a bedroom. A woman with thick black hair wearing a maid uniform picked up a lamp gently, dusting the area where it sat and then dragging the cloth over the shining black surface. She moved from the dresser to the desk against one wall, organizing the papers and drawings scattered across its surface._

_Curious, Mai moved forward, ignoring Gene's attempts to stop her, and looked over the woman's shoulder. The drawings were beautiful. They were mostly of women doing random things like staring up at the trees or standing in a kitchen. Several drawings slipped from the woman's hands and scattered across the floor._

_Instinctively, Mai crouched to help the woman. Her hands slid through the papers. That was right. She was as insubstantial as a ghost in the dream realm. With a sigh of regret, she glanced down at the drawings. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips._

_Several of the drawings were of her in multiple settings. She was sleeping sprawled out on the couch, a book open on her chest. She was cooking dinner in her small kitchen. She was drying her hair after a shower. The pictures went on and on, intermixed with drawings of other women._

"_What the…?" Mai murmured to herself, glancing over at the drawing in the woman's hand to see completely black. She reached for the drawing, her fingers brushing the woman's hand. In an instant, she was sucked into the woman's body._

_Mai watched silently through the woman's eyes as she stared down at a drawing a woman in the shower. It looked to be drawn from the vantage point of a tree outside of a bathroom window. "Fucking creeper," she muttered, crumpling the picture into a ball and shoving it deep into the bottom of a trash bag._

_Without warning, the woman was yanked up by her long hair. The papers in her grasp fluttered to the floor, crinkling under heavy footsteps. She was shoved roughly against the desk, her back to her assailant. Mai winced, pain shooting through her abdomen._

"_What the hell do you think you're doing in here?" growled a male voice in the woman's ear. His breath fanned across her face smelling of solely of alcohol. A hand stayed curled in the her hair, pulling her head back sharply at a painful angle while his other curled around her throat making it difficult to draw in breath._

"_Cleaning," the woman gasped, her hand locking tightly around the man's wrist. She jerked at his arm to no avail. His fingers only tightened around her throat._

"_No anymore," he growled huskily, his knee threading between her legs. He pinned her against the desk, pushing her face down onto the hardwood. He removed his hand from her throat, only to grab her wrists. Her hair was released, falling in front of her eyes. That hand shot up her dress._

_The woman and Mai squirmed, screams lodging in their throats. "Stop it!" the woman snarled, baring her teeth even though the man couldn't see it through her curtain of dark hair. She twisted her wrists this way and that, trying to break free._

"_That's not going to happen," the man said. His hand trailed down the woman's back, digging his nails into her flesh. He flipped up her skirt, sliding roughly into her._

_The woman winced. "What are you? A little bitch? Stop with the nails and scratching," the woman spat, her voice rough with the unshed scream, struggling to right her upper body._

"_Ooo, feisty," the man cooed, digging his nails into the woman's hips as he rocked into her, "That's what I like to hear. Don't you dare think of screaming." In utter defiance, fear, and rage, the woman let out a blood curdling scream that was cut short by a pair of strong hands._

_Mai, still in the woman's body, scratched at her throat where invisible hands were cutting off her air supply. Fear and adrenaline coursed through her body, pouring into her blood stream. "No!" Mai released the scream that had been caught in her throat, thrashing about._

_The world before her burst, black ink swallowing her up. She caught a glimpse of Gene and the spirit representatives before she rocketed back into reality._

…..

Naru and the others sat in the base, books and laptops open in front of them. Lin tapped away at his keyboard, glancing up at the screen every couple of seconds.

"Aw man, I haven't found anything. This family is clean as a whistle," Monk complained, falling back into his chair. He dropped an arm over his eyes, puffing out a sigh of air.

"Relatively speaking, whistles aren't all that clean so that means you just haven't found anything," Naru pointed out, scanning over an article that dated back four months. '_Woman Found Dead in the Woods_' the title read in bold black letters, staring at Naru, accusing him of something he couldn't quite place. The feeling that he was missing something rang in his chest.

"Dude, it's only a metaphor," Monk scoffed, sitting forward in his chair again. "Alright, mister sassy, what have you found then?" he said, puckering his lips and scrunching his eyebrows together.

John and Yasu chuckled. "That's a gross face you're making, Monk," Yasu laughed.

Both men ignored him, staring blankly at each other. "Well, apparently more than you," Naru jabbed back, glancing back down at the computer and scrolling to the article.

"Whatever, you just don't want to admit that you haven't found anything," Monk said, shutting the laptop and getting to his feet. He stretched his arms far above his head, yawning. His shoulders cracked loudly, making even Lin wince. "I'm going to go get coffee." He started from the door and nearly fell over the coffee table when the scream broke the silence.

"What the hell?" he shouted, jerking the door open and bolting down the hall, Naru on his heels.

The men burst into the girl's room to find the three females holding a screeching Mai down to the bed. He eyes were closed tightly, and tears streamed down her face. "Mai!" the men called, Naru leading the way into the bedroom.

**I am so sorry for the very very late update! I haven't been writing lately and I got really pissed at my comp the other day, sorry. I don't know how often I'll be update for the whole month of November because of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), so don't expect any new chapters for a while. Review please! :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Beatings and Contractions

**I am so very sorry for the month-late update *gets down on floor and bows***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 11: Beatings and Contractions

Mai fought against the three females holding her down. Every so often, she'd break her leg free or arm free and strike out at one of the three women around her. Her high-pitched screams reverberated around the room, deafening the others, even the men standing around the end of the bed.

"Hurry up and come help us!" Ayako screeched, her hands slipping from around Mai's ankle for the fifth time. The air rushed from her lungs as Mai nailed her in the stomach and then kicked up, catching her across her cheek.

Masako was next for abuse. She was head-butted in the nose, but she pushed through, keeping Mai's arms pressed firmly into the bed. The insides of her wrists were scratched raw, blood leaking into her paws and slicking Mai's wrists. She wasn't all the sure that it was completely her blood on Mai's wrists.

Emma was not safe from her attack either. She was caught in the knee, then the elbow, and lastly the shoulder. She was knocked back off the bed, tumbling ass over teakettle back into John.

Naru pulled out of his shock, hurrying over to Masako. "I'll take over," he told her, quickly replacing her hands with his own. He pushed Mai's arms into the bed effortlessly, holding her there. He leaned forward, keeping out of the reach of his girlfriend's head-butt. "Mai, wake up. Wake up. You're safe," he said, wincing as Mai slammed the back of her head into his hip with enough force to jar his teeth.

Lin and Monk took over her legs, pressing her knees and ankles into the mattress. Monk, not expecting the strength of the pregnant woman, lost his hold on her leg and was promptly kicked in his junk. He slumped off the bed, a pained groan slipping from his throat. Yasu sighed, quickly taking his place so that Lin wouldn't be the next to sustain damage from the still screaming girl.

"Mai, wake up!" Naru shouted this time, glaring down at the struggling female. Immediately, her screams shut off replaced by breathless gasps that quickly turned into hyperventilating. Gritting his teeth, Naru ordered, "Ayako, come here and slap Mai."

"O-okay," she stammered, hurrying to his side. She waited until he pulled far back to pull her hand back. The crack of skin against skin echoed through the room, leaving an uncomfortable silence in its place.

Mai's limbs stilled as did her breathing. Naru cursed under his breath. He released her wrists, moving around as that he could easily perform CPR. Right before he was about to start, Mai let out a choked sob, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. Slowly, she curled around her swollen belly on her side, leaving her eyes closed.

"Let's go," John murmured, wrapping his arm around Masako's shoulders and leading her out. He glanced back at the others, giving them a look that clearly said, '_Give them room_.'

Taking his unspoken advice, the others shuffled from the room, glancing back unsurely. The pair still on the bed were oblivious to the exiting of their teammates. Naru leaned close to Mai, pulling the hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. He ran his fingers gently down her face, grimacing when red streaked down her skin.

"Mai, open your eyes. What happened?" he said, staring down at her. He slid his arm onto her other side so that he was caging her in with his arms, "You can tell me."

Soft brown eyes hesitantly slid open, staring up at Naru with utter sorrow. She pressed her arms close to her belly as if she were trying to protect it from some invisible, or maybe not so invisible, threat. Her bottom lip trembled, her eyebrows pulled together, and her eyes narrowed as more tears filled her eyes.

"He killed her. He r-r-r-raped her and then killed her," she whispered before the first sob overtook her. She closed her eyes to him, pain radiating through her body with the memory of the vision. Visible tremors rocked her body, making her muscles contract.

Closing his eyes, Naru took several moments to breathe deeply before continuing with his questioning. "Who Mai? Who was killed?"

She shook her head, letting her hair fall across her eyes. "I don't know her name. She-" Mai swallowed thickly, pushing down a sob. "She was a maid here. There was a black lamp in the room she was working in and a dark desk with drawing spread all over it." She let out a quiet mewl of pain.

Naru frowned at both her statement and the sound she'd made. His eyebrows slowly joined forces in concern in the middle of his brow. "Could you know the room if you saw it again?" he asked.

Mai shook her head. "I-I don't know. Maybe." Her voice went down at the end as she groaned loudly, her toes curling painfully.

Forgetting his line of questioning, Naru slid to the floor in front of her, staring into her face. "Mai, what's the matter? Are you in pain? What's happening? Is the… is the baby coming? Is that what's happening?" His mind went into hyper drive, panic flooding his brain cells and shutting down his rational thought process. "Where does it hurt?" he asked as an afterthought, trying to remember all of the information he knew about labor.

She pulled her hand and slid it from the middle of her belly to her spine. "Here," she panted, "I don't think it's true labor though."

"What are you talking about? How can there be any other kind of labor? There's only one kind of labor during pregnancy," he said, moving to stand, but she fisted her hand around his T-shirt. The strength from earlier had not faded it seemed. He knew for a fact that if he moved she wouldn't have any trouble ripping his shirt.

Mai smiled irately, pulling him back to his knees beside her. "This is true, there is only one kind of labor during pregnancy, but there are two types of contractions. There are labor contractions and false labor contractions. These are Braxton Hicks contractions, otherwise known as false labor." She was smiling too sweetly not, her teeth clenched against the pain.

"Do you want me to call Madoka so you can ask her about them?" he asked. Even if she said no, he'd definitely be giving her a call later so she could warn him about any more surprises that he may experience during the rest of Mai's pregnancy.

Mai sighed slowly, her grip loosening in his shirt. "No, they're already calming down." Sweat glistened lightly across her brow and her breathing was irregular, but she was slowly gaining control over it once more.

"I thought those weren't supposed to hurt."

"I've heard from multiple women that they pain of them can vary, and you can estimate the pain of your labor by the pain during Braxton Hicks contractions. They said to times the pain by ten," she murmured, already slowly sitting up.

Naru suppressed a groan. He'd be losing a hand due to lack of blood flow during Mai's delivery if the pain during her labor would be tenfold to what she'd just felt. He could already hear the crushing of his bones in his ears.

"Come on, let's go join the others. I have to tell them sorry," Mai said, already on her merry way to the door, her feet shuffling across the carpet.

Naru caught up to her, wrapping and arm around her back and the other hand taking her elbow. "Don't go off without me. You probably woke up the whole house. We don't want you running into anything vengeful by yourself," he said almost condescendingly.

"Naru, I'm pregnant, not helpless. Stop treating me like a baby," she complained even though secretly, she liked that he was taking such good care of her.

**Well, there you go. Again, I am so so so so so so very sorry for the extremely late update. I've barely been able to write at all lately because my teachers think it's fun to dump a crap load of homework on us the month before break *sigh* Plus I'm lazy and had to reread my whole story to remember what I was planning on writing.**

**Anyway, NaNoWriMo was fun. I got my 50,000 words on the 31****st**** and I'm still working on my story which I've barely been able to work on either *grumble* I should be more regular now with my chappies and there should be two more Hetalia one-shots coming your guys way so look forward to them yes? :D**

**Anyway, review lost guys! I've missed reading all of your wonderful comments on my story, plus I'm a whore for reviews :P**


	12. Chapter 12: Apologies and Strategies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 12: Apologies and Strategies

Mai and Naru entered the room to find the other bruised and scratched team members. They crowded around the couches in several states of dressing their wounds. Emma had her shirt off, completely comfortable in her bra, letting Yasu paste a hot patch over the bruise spreading across her shoulder. A bruise was forming on her elbow. Her pajama pants were already pulled up to her knee, a hot patch covering the bruise that was there.

Ayako held a wash cloth soaked in hot water over her cheek, grumbling nonsensical things to herself, glaring at the floor. Monk sat beside her, a bag of ice pressed over his crotch. He groaned, pressing his face into his knees.

Masako sat with her head tilted back against the back of the couch. John had a white towel pressed over her nose, murmuring to her. Her hands were folded in her lap. Blood still caked her wrists and palms.

Lin was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm so sorry, guys! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Mai shouted, bowing to as low as she could go while pregnant, which was only about one-fourth of the way that she usually could bow. She stayed there for a long moment before Naru pulled her back up.

"It's alright, Mai, really. We're not that hurt, just bruised and Masako is scratched up a bit, but we're relatively okay," Emma said, pulling her back around her shoulders and buttoning it up.

"I'm feeling pretty hurt over here," Monk gripped, still leaning over his knees.

"What did I do to him?" Mai whispered to her boyfriend, looking back at him for the answer.

John chuckled, still holding the towel to Masako's face. "Well, let's just say that Monk will be lucky if he can children," he said, grimacing as he glanced towards Monk.

"Sorry Monk!" Mai cried, shuffling as fast as she could over to Monk, throwing her arms around him, "I'm really sorry, Monk! Don't be mad with me!"

"I'm not, I'm not," Monk said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder, "I can't stay mad at you." He sighed, pulling away and raising his eyebrow at Naru. "So, Naru, what's going to be our plan of action today? I don't think it'd be a good idea to go back to bed."

Naru paced into the room, his chin in his hand, his elbow captured in his other. "Well, first things first, we're switching up the sleeping arrangements. Then we'll be doing more research, and Mai will go with Masako and Ayako to check room temperatures and see if she can identify the room from her dream. We'll do that later though when the Tsukiyomi family leaves later today. They said they were going out to do something."

"What about me, Naru? What am I going tomorrow?" Emma asked, raising her arm as high as it would go with her injured shoulder.

Naru pursed his lips, looking over at her. "I'd like to get the research over and done with as quickly as possible, so you'll be assisting Yasu tomorrow. You know more about the house so you may be some help besides just researching things."

John shot his hand into the air, speaking before anyone even looked at his hand. "Is it alright to ask what Mai's dream pertained to? It may help with the research. We could focus our search a little." He let his hand drop, looking a little sheepish now.

Mai's face contorted in anguish for the fraction of a second. With her still hugging Monk, she was facing away from the others and her expression was luckily not caught by any of the others. She took a deep breath to compose herself, and turned to face the others. "Simple version, a maid who used to work here was murdered in one of the rooms by someone who also lived here," she said quickly. The expression she put on made it obvious to the others that she was more than deeply disturbed by vision.

Yasu, ever the one to keep his mind on work, spoke up next. "Alright, then Emma and I will focus on disappearances around this area spanning back ten to fifteen years, would you say?" he asked Naru, absently twirling a dark brown strand of Emma's hair around his finger.

"I think that would be a good idea, though I don't think we're going to find anything that far back," Naru replied, pacing back and forth in front of the monitors. He glanced up at the screens every few seconds, searching for what, they didn't know.

The two men fell into discussion, easily pulling the other two men in with them. Mai, Ayako, and Emma, moved over to the couch were Masako still had John pressing the towel to her nose.

"Is the blood flow coming to a stop?" Ayako asked, gently pulling the towel away from Masako's face to inspect her nose. She stood so that her body covered Masako's face making it impossible for the other two to catch a glimpse. "Good news is that it isn't broken, and you're not missing any teeth. Bad news is that it's probably be bruised for a couple weeks, and the blood has yet to stop. Mai or Emma, whoever, could you hand me another towel?"

"Sure," Mai said quickly, snatching up one of the towels from the stack in the middle of the coffee table. She tossed it to the older woman who snatched it out of the air effortlessly, replacing the towels so quickly that it was impossible to see what Masako's face looked like. "Did I do that?"

Masako grumbled her conformation, placing her hand over John's.

"Oh my god! Did I do **that** too? I am so sorry, Masako!" Mai cried, spying Masako's scratched up and bloodied wrists.

"Yows thre te sme," Masako mumbled from behind the cloth, staring down her nose at Mai so that she wouldn't have to lift her head. She pointed to Mai's wrists.

Mai glanced down at her wrists and found them equally as bloodied and scratched up as Masako's. "Did I do this?"

"You sure did," Emma said, pushing Mai into an open armchair, "You were struggling so much and fighting so hard. It was nearly impossible for us to keep you from hurting yourself. These were already there by the time we realized something was happening." She pulled a towel over her lap, pouring hydrogen peroxide over her wrist. Pink ran from her wrist, staining the white towel. Mai hissed in discomfort. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. We actually have to good shit instead of the more watered down version. His hurts more."

"I can tell," I murmured, giving Masako a pained look of sympathy because she was also letting out the same hiss.

All talking ceased like sheep halting at the edge of a cliff. All eyes were trained on the door where a young woman stood, staring curiously in on them.

"I-Is it alright if I come in?" Victoria asked tentatively, looking just a bit self-conscious and embarrassed.

**There you go. I realize it's a little late, but I hope it's sufficient enough. I'm on break for the next three weeks now. Don't expect extra chapters though xD Anyway, I'm going to try and upload a Hetalia Christmas story if I can get it done by tomorrow, we'll see. Look forward to it, okay? Review please, they fuel the creativity that runs my soul.**


	13. Chapter 13: Surprises

**I have finally finished my NaNoWriMo story, yay! *does victory dance* Now I will focus on this story. I'm sorry for the very late update.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 13: Surprises

"Victoria, what are you doing here?" Emma asked, her eyes wide, but her voice was just surprised. She pulled the top of her shirt that she had left open closed, her eyebrows making friends with her hairline.

Victoria shuffled her feet, focusing her eyes one the ground instead of anyone in the room. "Well, I heard screaming and I was worried something had happened to Emma so I came to investigate. Then I heard you talking so…" She trailed off, her cheeks reddening.

Surprise was a common emotion flowing through the room at that moment. It wasn't only because Victoria was standing in the door to Base, though that was quite a big part, it was that she wasn't dressed like she was hunting for a trick and she wasn't giving anyone a scathing death glare. In fact, she seemed to be timid in her blue penguin pajama pants and tank top, her shoulders covered by a thin light purple shawl.

Naru stared at her, a considering look on his face. He was quiet so long that she began backing out the door, her face red as a tomato. "S-sorry, I'll just be going now," she stammered.

"You can help by assisting the girls in moving their things into the rooms they'll be staying in from now on. Then you can take Mai, Masako, and Ayako around the house, particularly the bedrooms and studies. After the rest of your family has departed to where ever they are going," Naru said, turning back to the monitors.

Victoria's mouth popped open in surprise. Her eyes sparkled excitedly. "T-thank you. I'll be happy to do that," she said, taking a few tentative steps into the room before hurrying over to Emma. "Are you alright?" she asked, concern taking over for her relief.

Emma smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little bruised, but fine all the same. Some of the others had much rougher time than I did," she replied, tilting her head towards Masako just the slightest bit.

Victoria glanced at Masako and gasped. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice going quiet and timid.

Masako watched her over John's hand holding the towel, deciding whether to be civil with her. Finally, she shrugged. "I'th 'een bter," she mumbled, resisting the urge to sneeze. She closed her eyes, shutting out all of the external noise around her. Since she'd be here for a while she figured she might as well do some work. She let out a breath and tried to concentrate on the spirit or spirits in the house.

Ayako spoke up from the place she'd taken up by the window. "Wait, what do you mean we're switching rooms?" she asked, her eyes narrowing on the teen before her. She had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't like his next words.

Without turning, Naru gave his condescending explanation. "It's as I said. We're switching up rooms. Everyone is getting paired off. Any person of average intelligence should have been able to figure that out."

Ayako couldn't have cared less about his insult at that point. "Pairing off? Why are we pairing off? Who are we pairing off with? And by switching rooms you mean we'll be staying with our partner?"

"Yes, and one to two other pairs. We're pairing off because two females on our team can't seem to stay out of trouble," he glanced over his shoulder, looking pointedly at Mai and Emma who looked away whistling, "Lin can have the pleasure of telling everyone the groups." With that, he turned back towards the monitors, narrowing his eyes.

Ayako shot a glare at the two girls, but turned expectantly to Lin.

Sighing, Lin pulled a slip of paper from a book next to him. "The pairs will be: Naru and Mai, Emma, Yasu and I, John and Masako, and Monk and Ayako," he read off in a monotone voice that sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter, "Naru, Mai, Emma, Yasu and I will be sharing a room, and John, Masako, Monk and Ayako will be sharing the second room." He stuffed the paper back into his book and went on clicking away at his keyboard.

"What?" both Ayako and Monk shouted, jumping from their seats.

"No. Oh no! I refuse to sleep in the same room as that man!" Ayako shouted, pointing to Monk.

Mai rolled her eyes and grinned. "Why? You sleep in the same bed all the time. Plus, I'm pretty sure that's not the only thing you do. In bed and out of bed." She waggled her eyebrows at the pair.

They inched farther away from one another, dark blushes covering their cheeks. "How would you know anything, Mai? You're just a teenager!" Ayako shouted, glaring at her, "Keep your nose out of peoples' bedrooms and get your own sex life!"

"Don't tell her that! She doesn't need a sex life! She needs to stay pure and innocent forever!" Monk shouted back at her. He struggled to his feet, looking down on the red head exasperatedly.

"Monk, I don't think being pregnant at my age is considered being pure an innocent," Mai interjected before Ayako could reply, "That ship sailed a long time ago. Sorry to burst your fatherly bubble." She smiled sweetly, causing the others to burst out laughing. Masako let out a chuckle that turned into a cough and then a more substantial laugh. Even Victoria giggled, covering her smile with a hand.

"You idiots, are you trying to wake up the rest of the house?" Naru snapped, swinging around to glare at his bickering and laughing teammates. This only made them laugh harder, and Monk and Ayako joined in. He rolled his eyes and turned his back with the muttering of, "Peasants." Again, this just had the group rolling on the floor.

Mai chuckled, rubbing her stomach where her unborn child had kicked at her hand. "Alright guys, time to calm down. The baby is getting riled up and anxious."

Now ignoring the monitors, or possibly having gotten bored of them, Naru plopped down beside Mai. He slid his hand in next to hers. He would never ever admit it to anyone, but there was so much wonderment for him in feeling the baby push against his hand. He just loved the feeling in presented in him. Again, he'd never let anyone know that about him.

"Hey, Naru, better be careful. You might actually turn into a normal human being if you keep acting like that," Yasu spoke up, grinning and laughing like he could see straight through his mask.

He shot a glare at the ash-haired teen. He really disliked how observant Yasu was when it didn't pertain to a case. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I have always been a normal human being," he scoffed not removing his hands from his girlfriend's stomach.

"Um, Mai, may I ask when your due date is?" Victoria asked. She was still fussing over Emma, checking her bruises and hot patches.

Mai smiled, placing a hand over Naru's so that he couldn't move away. She had effectively captured and imprisoned him. "About two weeks give or take a couple days."

"That's good. I hope you have an easy birth," Victoria replied with a smile much too kind for the expressions that were usually on her face.

Masako let out a grumble. If it was supposed to be actual words or not nobody could tell. She sat forward slowly, sighing loudly. John's hand followed her face. She put her hand over his, holding the towel in place. It was an odd sight. "Are we going to change rooms soon? I believe we have a lot to do and little time to do it," she said, pulling the towel away from her mouth enough to be heard.

"Dude, it looks like your face had a period," Emma said, looking up at Masako from where her head was laying in Yasu's lap. She laughed, turning her face into her boyfriend's stomach so Masako couldn't flick her in the nose.

Masako gave her a stony look. "Thanks for the update, Emma," she grumbled, looking over to Naru, "So. When are we getting started?"

Naru sighed and stood. "Now."

**There you go, I hope you liked it. I am so very sorry for the late update. I have no excuse for my behavior. I'm just really lazy. I've had writer's block if that counts -_- wow, look at me making excuses. Anyway, here's this chapter. The next chapter should be up in a day or two, if I don't slack off. Review please and feed my inner author. She craves them like my best friend craves bacon :D**


	14. Chapter 14: An Unexpected Souce

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 14: Help from an Unexpected Source

The girls traipsed down the hall clipboards and thermometers in hand. The things they carried were only to give an excuse to why they were wondering around the house from room to room. Though that wouldn't exactly give them an excuse to why they were snooping around everyone's bedrooms. Good thing the three people they were worrying about finding them were out of the house for the day.

"So, Victoria, where did your parents and Ikki go?" Ayako asked, jotting the temperature of the room down on her clipboard, and sighing.

Victoria moved around the study slowly, picking up small objects here and there. She stared intently at a photo a sad expression playing across her face. "I don't actually know. All I know is that Mom wanted Dad and Ikki out of the house because they were complaining and gripping and wouldn't shut up. She figured a day away from the house would do them some good." She placed the picture face down where it had sat before.

"Let's hope it works. I feel so bad for your mom having to spend the whole day with those asshats," Mai said. Quickly, she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. That was really rude wasn't it?"

Victoria waved her off with a grin. "Oh, don't worry. They are much worse than simple asshats. I don't mind you insulting them. You've earned it." She glanced down at Mai's swollen belly and then quickly looked away.

"Are we ready to go to the next room?" Masako asked, looking around the room one last time. She could feel something unsettling, but it didn't feel like it was coming from this room. She couldn't pin point exactly where it was coming from. She hadn't been able to focus in on the presence earlier today either. It was starting to annoy her.

"Yeah, sure," Victoria said, holding the door open until Mai had toddled her way out, "I'm not sure what the next room is so just knock and then walk in when you get there." She took Mai's arm, holding her back until the other two women were half way down the hall and chatting. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, what do you want to talk to me about?" Mai asked, her face so unsuspecting and innocent even with all that she had been through.

Something inside of Victoria began to ache with the loss of such pure innocence. She couldn't look at her as they began to walk again. "Well, I just want to tell you I'm sorry."

Mai cocked her head, confusion lighting in her eyes. "For what?"

Victoria smiled bitterly. She never thought she'd be saying this to anyone, let alone another female. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you when we first met. I was jealous and stupid and shallow, and I shouldn't have treated you like I had. I shouldn't have tried to steal Mr. Shibuya from you either using such nasty means. I'm sorry." She sighed, running her hand through her hair. She'd never been comfortable with apologizing to people. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd truly apologized for something.

Mai frowned. She wasn't going to tell her that it was alright. It wasn't. "What happened to make you change so drastically?" She watched Victoria carefully, noting how she gripped her upper arm.

"Well, let's just say that I was put in my place, or more into perspective. Both. It was terrible of me to call you what I did and do what I did after what happened to you. I'm sorry," Victoria said, looking away. She clutched at her arms. She'd pulled on a pair of jeans, but she'd stayed in her tank top and shawl. Mai wondered what she was hiding under the thin material.

"Okay. I can accept that as an answer. I won't pry. If you want to tell me all of it one day, you'll know where to find me," Mai said with a kind smile, "Now, I think we should catch up to Masako and Ayako before Ayako decides to chew us out for slacking off."

They hurried down the hall at the fastest speed Mai could shuffle along at. They reached the open door in record time, glancing in at the carnage that was someone's bedroom. Victoria's lips pursed in disgust, letting out a quiet '_ooo_'. "Ah, this is Ikki's room," she said, standing outside the door. She was more or less hiding behind the wall next to the door. "Make sure to put anything you touch exactly where it was. I swear to God that Ikki has a sixth sense when it comes to his things, especially his bedroom."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw some of the shit on his floor, or at least some of his drawing," Ayako said, looking around at the paper covered walls. Every inch of the walls had a drawing plastered to it. Even the ceiling was covered. Mai wasn't sure what color the walls were because she couldn't see them at all. "Jesus Christ, this boy is such a damn creeper. All of this just makes me want to kill him more."

"You can't do that Ayako," Masako started, flipping through several drawings scattered across Ikki's desk, her expression growing more and more disgusted with every flip of a page.

"That's murder and that's frowned upon," Mai finished, slowly inching into the room. She suddenly felt sick from just standing there. "This is…" She didn't know how to finish her sentence. Instead, she looked around at all of the drawings, slowly moving from one drawing to another. "These are the pictures I saw in my dream," she said, her voice growing more scared with each word. She pointed to each picture that she'd seen in her dream until she came to the picture of the woman showering. It had obviously been crumpled up and then flattened out again.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered, drawing her hand back and slamming it over her mouth. She back away from the wall, hearing the crunching of papers under her foot, until she back into the edge of the desk. She let out a squeak of fear, her body going rigid, her dream suddenly coming back to her.

Masako glanced at Mai, her eyebrows squeezing together. "Mai, are you alright? What's the matter? What are you seeing?" She reached out towards the other teen, placing a gentle pale hand on her shoulder. She gasped as they were both sucked down into black.

…..

_The maid that Mai had seen in her dream stood before a window looking out over the woods that bordered the edge of the Tsukiyomi mansion. Her eyes were dead and flat. Purple handprints stretched around her pale neck._

"_He will pay. I will make him pay. He will die just as he killed me. They both will," she was muttering to herself. Her hands were curled into fists, her hair floating around her as if she were suspended in water._

_Even though she was obviously hurt, maids and butlers as well obvious family members passed by her without a second look. As her anger grew, frost crawled across the window despite the sunny warmth that the breeze from open windows provided. The glass began to crack. Nobody seemed to notice._

_Emma followed by a younger girl, walked down the hall giggling and having a grand time. They were just passing by when the woman unleashed an outrage screech and slammed her fist through the window. It shattered into a million pieces._

_Sharpened, lethal shards flew towards Emma and the younger girl. The young girl let out a scream that nearly drowned out the wailing of the spirit. Emma tossed herself over the girl, protecting her from the glass shards._

"_I will have my revenge," the spirit muttered, ignorant of the cowering girls behind her, before she faded from sight._

**Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be up sometime soon. A few days at most. The story will be wrapping up soon, so I hope you've all had a grand time with my story :D Review please in hopes of a longer chapter next time!**


	15. Chapter 15: One Question at a Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 15: One Question at a Time

"Oh, well, that is very interesting indeed," Masako murmured as they came back to themselves. Mai and she were breathing shallowly.

"Masako, Mai, are you guys alright? What the hell was that just now?" Ayako asked, glaring at the younger females, waiting impatiently for their answers. She was crouched beside them on the floor, doing a quick check of them to make sure they were not injured. She felt along Mai's stomach more carefully only to have her hand kicked off by the unborn child. "Little brat," she muttered, staring at the disappearing foot.

Masako and Mai glanced at each other. "That was very interesting," Mai confirmed, rubbing her arms to chase away the cold that had caused goose-bumps to erupt across her skin, "I was not expecting that at all. What do you think it means?"

"I think it means that the ghost isn't actually targeting Emma, but more that Emma is always in the wrong place at the wrong time," Masako answered placing her sleeve over her mouth per usual.

"Um, okay, hello? There are two people here who didn't see what you saw," Ayako pointed out, pointing at the younger females' chests, "So that means you need to tell us what the hell just happened."

"We'll tell you when we get back to Base," Mai said, struggling to her feet. Both of the older females rushed to her side, helping her up. "We're done now so let's get back. Let's go by the kitchen and make some tea first." She started shuffling forward leaving the other three women staring after her in confusion. Ayako groaned, following after her, a hand kneading her forehead.

"Why did Mai react the way she did to Ikki's room?" Victoria asked, looking over at Masako as they trailed after the two now arguing females.

Masako shrugged her shoulders. "I think it was more some pictures she saw on the wall. There were a lot of drawings of the woman we saw in our vision. Possibly it was the room too, but I'm not sure. I have a theory though…" She trailed off, watching Mai's curved back and her slow wobbly gate.

"I don't understand," Victoria admitted, glancing down at the floor with a light blush. This was another thing she hated. Ignorance on her part. It ate at her with a vengeance. "Can you explain it to me?"

Guessing at what she meant, Masako sighed. Explaining paranormal phenomenon to people without psychic capabilities was not one of her strong suites despite her extensive experience with both the paranormal and the living. "Well, I'm a medium as you well know so I see spirits and help them crossover. Mai isn't a medium per say, but she does possess psychic abilities. One of those abilities is to see spirits' memories of sorts. So when we went into your brother's bedroom, we had a vision. That's what we were talking about." She internally winced knowing that probably wouldn't help all that much.

Victoria frowned, her eyebrows pulling together. "So there're such things as psychic powers? I didn't know there was anything more to the paranormal than just ghosts? Weird. So what are other types of psychic powers?"

"I think your questions are better directed towards the paranormal researcher of our team. When we get done telling Mr. Shibuya about what happened, maybe you can ask him about everything paranormal," Masako suggested, speeding up to catch up with Mai and Ayako before Victoria started asking her more questions.

…..

"Why are you four back already? I do not pay you to slack off," Naru shot at them the moment they walked through the door and set the tray of tea down on the coffee table that was covered from one end to the other in books and papers. Papers spilled to the floor as they tried to make room for the tray.

Mai smiled tolerantly, walking over to him. He hadn't looked up from his work yet, and was unsuspecting as she swooped down on him. "What's got your panties in a twist? Do you not like me anymore so you're trying to get rid of me?" Her tone was joking, but the hurt that she put behind it was partly real.

Naru sighed, dropping his pen down onto his notebook. He turned towards Mai and pulled her into his lap. "No," he said, resting a hand on her hip, "So why are you four back?"

"Aw, you two are so sweet," Yasu cooed. Emma giggled. They were thoroughly ignored.

"Mai and Masako had a vision, but refused to tell us what happened in it until we got here, so spill it," Ayako said, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

Naru looked from Mai to Masako. "Really? What was it?"

Masako relayed the vision and then said, "We believe that the ghost is not actually targeting Emma. More that she was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do have one question though." She looked over to Emma who was watching the proceedings with interest. "When you were 'attacked', were you usually around your brother?"

Emma frowned and glanced towards the ceiling. "Um, thinking about it now, yeah, I was around him most of the time. I always wondered if that was a coincidence or not. I guess it wasn't." She shrugged and a grin spread across her face. "That makes me so very happy. I don't know why."

"Probably because your brother is an abusive jerk who hurt one of your best friends," Monk said, still nursing a bag of ice against his privates, "And you think he deserves it."

"Yeah, that's about right," Emma confirmed, her smile only growing wider.

"Oh, you are so wicked," Yasu said, leaning towards her.

"Not in front of everyone. Get a room!" Ayako snapped, glaring at the pair.

Emma stuck her tongue out at the other woman. "You're no fun," she whined making John chuckle who had taken a seat beside Masako.

"You believe that the woman in your vision is the same one from your dream, Mai?" Naru asked, trying to ignore the bickering that was beginning to break out between Ayako, Monk, and Emma thought Emma was acting more as an antagonist.

Mai nodded. "I know that she's the maid I saw in my dream.

"Did you find out what bedroom was in your dream?"

"Ikki's room," she replied reluctantly, her face scrunching up in disgust.

"Why does that not surprise me?" he asked, rubbing his hand over his face, "Do you think he was the one who killed the maid?" He tried not to curl his fists in disgust. The prospect of committing a murder was becoming more and more appealing with every passing moment in the house.

Mai hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, I do. I really do. I don't want to go around accusing anyone of murder, but… I can't rule him or my gut out."

"Your gut is an unborn hyper baby," Yasu said, flipping quickly through a thick booklet of papers. "Maybe your baby is clairvoyant."

Mai groaned, dropping her head onto Naru's shoulder. "Don't say that. I don't want my baby to end up like me."

"What do you mean 'like you'?" John asked, looking over at her concerned, "There is nothing wrong with you."

"I don't want him getting stuck with psychic powers and then being separated from the rest of the group. It's not a good feeling," Mai explained. She sighed. "I'm tired. Can I go back to sleep?"

Naru sighed. "Sorry, no, not until we figure out who was killed. Well, unless we don't find out by…" He trailed off trying to think of a good time for a pregnant woman to go to bed while still doing sufficient amount of work. "Eight."

"Seven," Mai countered.

"That's fine."

"Yay!" Mai shouted happily, "Alright guys, let's get to work and figure out who our ghost is!" She got up from Naru's lap, plopping down beside Emma and looking at all of the papers on the table. Suddenly, the prospect didn't seem so appealing. She pulled a cup of tea towards her. "While drinking some tea."

The group was finally quiet. The only sounds in the room were the sound of flipping papers and people swallowing their tea. Masako drifted off to sleep against John's shoulder. She looked like a small child beside him.

Suddenly, Lin turned away from his computer, staring down at the papers scattered across the table. Everyone, surprised, looked up and watched him curiously as he pulled himself towards the table and started flipping through the papers. "Do you have the missing persons reports?" he asked Yasu.

"Yeah, right here," Yasu said. A book slammed to the floor as he pulled papers from under it. He handed them to Lin.

Lin flipped through the papers quickly. "None of these women worked here. Emma, Victoria, did any of the maids here ever go missing?"

Eyes widened as they stared at the usually quiet man. "Uh… um, y-yeah, I think so," Emma stuttered, looking for a paper in the piles of papers.

"They were never reported?" Naru asked, looking over the papers Lin had handed him.

"Not that I can tell."

"You and Victoria make a list of all the maids that you know of who have ever just disappeared from this estate. Provide a name and description if you can," Naru ordered, turning back towards his computer as Lin turned back towards his computer, "I think we may know find out who our victim is."

**There you go, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story will be wrapping up sometime soon so I hope you stay with me until them (: Review please :D**


	16. Chapter 16: Hints

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 16: Hints

Mai snuggled closer to Naru's body, soaking up the warmth that he put off. He was like a heater sometimes. They'd somehow managed to sneak away and get to bed two hours earlier than the rest of the crew, or more they'd just told the pair to shove off and go to sleep. Mai hadn't been much help, and Naru had begun brooding and muttering curses under his breath that **everyone** could hear despite what he actually believed.

She sighed, the list of females that had gone missing from this house running through her head for the hundredth time that day. It was quite long with girls of all different shapes, sizes and personalities. It made her sick every time she thought about it. All those lives possibly lost for such a stupid reason.

_In the distance, an owl hooted and took flight, and a wolf howled._

_Mai's eyes drifted back open. She wasn't in the bed by Naru anymore. She was lying in black, glowing softly as she always did in her dreams._

"_Nice to see you again, Mai, but two times in two days seems a bit excessive," Gene said above her. He crouched beside her, smiling. "How are you doing? Anything interesting happen between today and yesterday?" He watched her curiously as she pushed herself into a sitting position and then tried to unsuccessfully stand._

"_Yes, and I'd be much better if you actually helped me up instead of watching me struggle to stand. I am almost nine months pregnant, you know?" she said sarcastically, glaring half-heartedly at her boyfriend's twin._

"_Oh. Oh right! Sorry," Gene said quickly, tucking his hands under her arms and pulling her up._

_Sighing, Mai looked around, spotting Hikaru, Daisuke, Tetsuo and the doe rushing towards her. Hikaru rode on Daisuke's head. Tetsuo flew over the heads of the group. The doe stumbled along behind them, tripping clumsily over her own hooves. "Hey guys, how have you been?" she asked, carefully crouching to wrap arms around Daisuke's neck. He panted happily in her ear, acting more like a hyper dog than his usual reserved self. Hikaru chitter-grunted and scrambled onto Mai's shoulders, burrowing into her hair and rubbing against her cheek._

_Mai chuckled and leaned her cheek into Hikaru's nose. "Nice to see you too." She grinned._

_The doe finally made it over and nuzzled the side of Mai's head. Tetsuo landed on the doe's back and gently pulled on Mai's hair._

"_They were all very sad when you left and weren't taken along," Gene explained, watching the show off affection with an increasing amount of amusement, "They got depressed when they weren't called out. You have an excuse because you're pregnant, but what has that idiot scientist been doing?"_

"_Trying to figure out who the ghost is," Mai said, scratching between Diasuke's ears, "Also trying to hold himself back from hunting down Ikki and murdering him in cold blood. I think the only thing stopping him is the possibility of acquiring another ghost that way. He just wants out of this house."_

"_Wow, only three days and itching to leave. He must really hate that house," Gene said, crossing his legs at the ankles and leaning his shoulder against an invisible wall._

_Mai shrugged. "It's not so much the house as the house's occupants."_

_Gene was opening his mouth to comment on Naru's lack of people skills when the doe's head jerked up. Her ears twitched, and her eyes went wide. She twisted her head this way and that searching for the thing she'd sensed. Suddenly, she dropped to the floor, cowering behind Daisuke._

"_Shit," he muttered instead, pulling Mai to her feet as Hikaru hopped onto Daisuke's head. Daisuke began to growl low and steady as Hikaru started up an angry hiss, "Looks like this conversation is going to get cut short. Remember to hit my idiot brother for me when you wake up." He quickly hugged her before everything around her melted into black._

_Sighing, Mai turned around to face the scene ready to play for her. Fumiko Chi, the maid Mai had watched get murdered, stood over a groaning Ikki. He was curled in on himself in pain, clutching his sides. "You are a disgusting useless worm of a man," she snarled, kicking him in the ribs with all her might._

_He flew across the room, slamming into the wall. The audible sound of breaking bones filled the room. He let out an agonized sob, not looking up at the woman above him._

"_You took my life away from me, and the lives of many before me. I am going to make you pay for what you've done," she snarled. She dug her fingers into his hair, pulling him up by the root. He let out a cry. "You will not escape my wrath." She spun, flinging him across the room. He slammed into another wall, landing on his desk._

"_I will make you pay for everything you did to the women before me, your sisters, and me. You will never escape," she hissed, taking him by the hair and pulling him back up. He had landed on a box cutter. It stuck sickly out of his side, blood staining the area around the wound._

"_Pity, looks like you'll be dying sooner than I expected." Fumiko pulled the box cutter from Ikki's side and instead of setting it down, she began to carve every obscene word Mai had heard off and some she hadn't into every inch of his skin. When she was done, Mai couldn't recognize him._

"_Since you'll be dying soon, let me just speed up the process." Fumiko wrapped her hands around Ikki's throat, squeezing so hard Mai thought his neck would snap. She didn't let go until Ikki stopped breathing. She smiled smugly before the image went black._

_Color returned to show the maid now stared out another window, her expression solemn. "I don't want to be like this anymore. I don't want to be in limbo anymore," she said, pressing her forehead to the glass. Frost began to creep across the pane where her skin touched._

_Mai watched her curiously wondering why she was always at a window when she saw her in dreams. It seemed odd._

"_If I had my bones, maybe I'd be able to move on, but how do I get from in her to out there?" she shouted angrily, slamming her fist against the glass. It cracked under the pressure, but didn't shatter like that last one. "I only need a way to get out to the woods. Then I can find them. This is so frustrating!"_

_She let out a scream of anger. The temperature around her plummeted and her poltergeist self took over. She stared unseeingly out the window. Cracks spider-webbed out from the original cracks without her even touching the glass. The glass pain creaked and protested the abuse._

_Fumiko Chi turned towards me, her dead eyes focusing on Mai. "The lake. Look in the lake," she whispered, her voice raspy and so unlike the woman's voice when she was in control._

_Mai gasped in surprise. Then she was slamming upright in bed with a gasp of pain._

…..

"Mai, what's the matter?" Naru asked sleepily, sitting up slowly beside her. So far, he hadn't notice the excess amount of moisture that had soaked the bed. "Is it another Braxton-Hicks contraction?"

"Um, no, I think not," Mai huffed out, clutching at her stomach.

"What do you-" He cut off halfway finally noticing the wetness beneath him. "Did your…?" He trailed off, surprise once again inhibiting his brain activity.

"Yes, Naru, my water broke," she hissed at him, and then under her breath, "Mother fudging crumple in a hand basket! Curse the incompetence of men!" She was trying her hardest not to unleash every curse word that she knew. She didn't need her still yet to be born child making an appearance with a colorful vocabulary.

Naru stared at her uncomprehendingly until Mai grabbed onto his shoulder, squeezing until she knew it would her. "Get your ass into gear before I scream bloody murder and alert the entire house to my condition," she growled into his ear, unable to hold back the swear word that slipped through her clenched teeth.

There was no need for the threat because Masako knocked politely on the door and came in without an answer. "I knew it," she said, hurrying over to her friend and helping her from the bed while Naru still sat there stunned, "My dream was true. I'll get you changed. Naru, get dressed and then go start the car."

Taking a deep breath, Naru jumped from the bed, stripping off his pajama bottoms, pulling on a pair of pants and then slipping into a black T-shirt and a pair of shoes, someone's keys clutched in his hand. He rushed from the room, his feet pounding against the hardwood.

"Emma, Yasu, get up!" Masako yelled pulling off Mai's shorts and slipping a pair of pants onto her. The pair jerked awake in bed, sitting up and staring at her blurry-eyed. "Yasu, go get the others. We need Monk or Lin to drive Mai to the hospital. Emma, come help me get her outside."

The pair jumped from the bed. Emma rushed to the two females sides and Yasu rushed out the door. They changed Mai into a not wet shirt before helping her slowly wobble her way out the door.

Everyone was up by now. The group trailed behind Mai. Monk rushed off to tell Naru they'd be taking his car. Lin grabbed one of Mai's arms gently. Mai was letting out a stream of cleverly disguised curses, hissing in pain.

Before they were outside, Mai grabbed Masako's hand. "T-t-the lake. Chi-san said to check the lake. I think that's where her body is," she said, squinting at the other woman through the haze of another painful contraction, "And keep an eye on Ikki. I think he may be in trouble." She let out a low whine that was supposed to be a screech.

"Okay," Masako said, helping Mai down into the back of Monk's car where Naru was already waiting.

Ayako jumped into the front seat. "Mai, just breathe. In and out, deep breaths," she told Mai, demonstrating with her hands and her own breathing.

Mai glared at her, panting. "Don't fucking tell me what to do, Ayako."

Ayako grimaced. "I'll keep you guys posted from the hospital," Ayako called to the little group standing beside the car.

"Ayako, I think Mai would appreciate it if you stopped **wasting time**," Naru growled as Mai let out a groan that was a mix between pissed and agonized.

Glaring back at the two younger kids sitting behind her, Ayako said, "Yeah, okay, let's go. See you guys soon." She waved back to them as they drove away, and stayed flipped around to help Mai even when she stopped.

"So what now? It's almost six anyways," Yasu asked.

"We check the lake in the forest for bodies, and keep an eye on the slime bag of Mai's ex," Masako said, turning on the ball of her foot and marching up the stairs back into the house.

**Whelp, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. The next one or the one after that should be the last chapter. It's been fun writing this story for you guys. Review for the review monster that craves the attention :D It's a shameless review whore.**


	17. Chapter 17: Birth and Death

**This is the end! *crying in a corner***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 17: Birth and Death

"I don't understand. Why the lake, Masako?" John asked, sitting beside Masako in the small row boat they'd been able to borrow from the Tsukiyomi's. Turned out, the Tsukiyomi's had multiple boats and barely ever used them because the last time they had, Emma had almost ended up drowning when she fell over the side only a month ago.

Masako stared down into the depths of the water, trying to see something through the murk. "May said to check the lake. She said she thought the body might be here," she explained quickly, not turning towards him, "Do you have that piece of equipment that Lin said would help?"

John sighed. He wasn't even going to try to change her mind. She wouldn't listen to him. Mai and Masako thought they were so different, and they might have been, but they were equally stubborn. "Yeah, it's right here," he said, hefting a sonar device into his lap. It beeped softly. A cord trailed from the machine into the water. One the screen, everything in the lake was visible. "I don't see anything yet."

There was a splash. John looked up quickly, fear spiking through him, only to see Masako sitting back holding a sopping wet rag in her hand. She glanced towards him, motioning for him to continue. He watched her for a moment as she held up the scrap of cloth to the light before looking back at the machine.

"Oh, there's something here, Masako. I can't tell what it is though," he said, tracing the silhouette of something floating through the water. There was a louder splash. "Masako-" John started, but his words cut off. She was gone. The seat across from him was completely empty.

"Masako!" Dropping the device down on the seat beside him, John rushed over to his side of the boat. He looked over the edge, searching the water for any sign of the woman's colorful kimono, but there was no sign of her. He rushed back to the sonar.

The silhouette was moving away. With it was something that emitted heat, or more it was Masako. They were moving away from the boat quickly.

Stripping off his jacket, shoes, and socks, John dove into the icy water. He swam forward, forcing his eyes open. He couldn't see anything. It was too dark under the water. Not even the light of the rising sun could cut through the water. Just when he was ready to go back up for another breath of air, there was a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He turned towards the flash and started to swim.

…..

Masako couldn't see a thing. She didn't know if it was because her eyes were closed or if it was because there was no light under the water. All that she knew was that it was dark. Her lung burned, screaming for oxygen. Her limbs were heavy with the soaking fabric of her kimono.

Something was pulling her along. Icy fingers were wrapped around her wrist, jerking her deeper in the lake. It felt like an eternity before she stopped moving. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Masako cracked her eyes open. She jerked in surprise. Fumiko Chi was staring at her, her eyes dead and flat. She turned, trying to see what Fumiko was pointing at. She lost what little oxygen she had left to a shriek of terror.

Floating beside her was the corpse of a young woman. Her hair floated around her in a black fan. Her eyes were open, staring with milky pupils straight at Masako. Lower below her were more floating corpses, tied down with chains and cement blocks.

It was too much for Masako. Black splotches appeared in her vision. Before she fainted though, she saw Fumiko grin wickedly and disappear in smoky vapors.

…..

John emerged from the lake, coughing and sputtering. The woman in his arms was silent and pale, limp in his arms. "No. No, no, no. Masako, you have to be alright. Don't leave me," John murmured, hoisting Masako into the boat before pulling himself in beside her. His teeth were chatter and his lungs burned, but he couldn't rest.

He kneeled beside her. Taking a deep breath, he whispered a prayer. He opened the top layer of her kimono, tossing the heavy fabric to either side of her. "CPR, I need to do CPR," John told himself, placing the heel of his hand with his other hand on top of it keeping his fingers interlocked, in the middle of her chest on her sternum like he'd been taught. He compressed her chest thirty times before tilting her chin back and giving her two breaths before returning to compression.

John continued this cycle for what felt like hours before water spilled from Masako's mouth. She turned over coughing up the leftover water in her lungs.

"Thank you," John whispered, staring up at the blue sky.

"John?" Masako rasped, staring around blurrily, "I thought… I thought I was…" She trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.

Relief washing through him, John pulled Masako into him. "Thank God you're alive. What happened?" He pulled away, glancing over her. The only thing that he could see was from with her was the dark bruise forming around her wrist. He knew that there would be a huge bruise already forming across her chest, but he felt it would be worth it.

"Chi-san, she pulled me into the lake. She showed be that all of the girls, all of the women Ikki killed, they're all down there. So many dead." Masako's voice broke. She dropped her face into her hands sobbing hard. "I thought I was going to die and end up like one of them."

John pulled her into his body, hugging her tightly. "You're alright. You're alive," he said, kissing the top of her head, "I'm just glad you're alive."

…..

"Naru, what do you want us to do about that bodies?" Lin asked, watching John fuss over Masako and watching Emma fuss over the pair. She was slowly getting angrier, only just barely keeping herself from yelling at the young blonde man.

"Just sit down and let me do this! You're in the way!" she finally shrieked at him, spinning to glare at him.

"Um, hey, John, let's get you changed," Yasu suggested, wrapping his arms around John's shoulders and stirring him towards the door. "After that, we can grab a couple of blankets and make some tea and coffee for everyone. What do you say?" They disappeared out the door, John still staring over his shoulder at Masako.

"Jesus H. Christ, can't get a break around here," Emma muttered under her breath, smoothing a hot patch gently over Masako's wrist. "Now, I'm going to need you to show me the bruise on your chest because I know there's going to be one." She glanced over her shoulder at the tall Chinese man. "Lin, you need to leave right now. Go get Masako some dry clothes or check on Ikki and Monk, or something." Monk had come back from the hospital per Ayako's and Naru's order to help with babysitting.

Lin sighed and nodded, leaving the room before he could get yelled at by the teenager again.

"Call the police. Make up a story. Don't tell them what we're really doing there. I don't need up getting caught up in the media," Naru said quickly, his voice losing the calm it usually possessed as Mai screamed in pain in the background, "I have to go. I won't be able to help with the case until Mai's through labor."

"Don't worry, Naru. We've got everything under control. I think we can finish it on our own now," Monk said, snatching the phone from Lin's fingers as Lin stepped into the room where they had corralled Ikki, "You get back to that girl of ours."

"Monk, Lin, stop distracting Naru and get back to work!" Ayako screamed into the phone making all three occupants jump in surprise.

Monk rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, we're gone." The line had already gone dead by the time he was finished talking. "She hung up," he said, annoyed, handing the phone back to Lin.

"How's it going here?" Lin asked, looking over at Ikki who was madly scribbling across a piece of paper. He had a chip back open neck to him. Crumbs and empty cans of soda littered the desk top, pencils scattered with them.

"I think he was high or something. He's been drawing these weird pictures this whole time and eating," Monk said, standing beside the taller man with his hands on his hips, "So what are we going to do now?"

"Call the police, get the bodies from the lake, and try to exorcise Fumiko Chi," Lin said, pressing his phone back to his ear.

…..

The group stood on the porch, watching the police dive in and out of the lake from afar. There were police officers standing around the house, waiting for orders. Kyoko and Haru were talking to one of the officers. Haru had started yelling at the poor man about ten minutes ago, and the man had had zero luck in calming him down.

"I'd rather be watching Mai give birth than listening to his screeching at the moment," Yasu said, wrapping his arms around Emma and staring out over the forest, "He sounds like a banshee on her period."

Emma giggled. "You would really rather watch Mai writhe in pain and scream curses at everyone instead of just having to sit here and listen to my father?"

"No, I'd rather watch Naru get killed because Mai is writhing in pain," Yasu corrected, grinning down at Emma.

"I'm sure everyone would prefer that to this," Monk said with a laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the house.

Lin sighed, annoyed. "If you guys are going to complain then go check on Ikki why don't you," he said, sound scarily like Naru.

"Okay," Emma and Yasu said, jumping at the chance to be warm again.

An officer walked up once they had disappeared through the door, a grim look on his face. "So far, we have found five bodies of females and the divers are still pulling up bodies," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "It looks like these girls were killed in similar fashions to the other three females we've had to come here to get."

Lin and Monk exchanged a look. "That is very odd," Lin finally said, looking back at the officer.

The officer narrowed his eyes at them. "What did you say that your relation to the Tsukiyomi's was again?"

"We're family friends. We were just here for vacation," Monk lied smoothly, smiling reassuringly at the man. They'd been lucky enough to disassemble all of the equipment and pack it in the back of the van before the police came.

The officer was opening his mouth to respond when an earsplitting screech, obviously Emma's, ripped through the air. It was long and high, only cutting off after all the air had gone from the person's lungs.

"Emma," Lin and Monk said together, sprinting into the house followed closely by the officer, Masako and John. The officer was yelling at them to go back outside, but they just ignored him. They reached the room Ikki was being held in in record time.

Emma was clinging to Yasu, sobbing into his shirt. She stared wide-eyed at a figure across the room and a form lying crumpled on the desk. The police officer rushed into the room, and pulled his gun. "Hands up!" he shouted.

Fumiko turned towards the police officer. She smiled wickedly.

"H-hands behind your head! Get down on your knees!" the officer shouted.

Once again, Fumiko just stood there smiling at him. He took a tentative step forward. She burst into light and was gone. The officer took a step back, dropping his arms to the side. "What the hell just happened?" he stuttered.

"Honestly, you don't want to know," Monk said, pressing fingers to Ikki's neck. "He's dead. I'm sorry, Emma." Emma didn't say anything, but she shook her head. Yasu lead her out of the room. "I guess it's over."

…..

"Mai! How are you doing?" Monk shouted the next day as the entire group burst through the door.

Naru and Ayako glared at the noisy bunch of people from their spots beside Mai. She was sleeping soundly, her head resting on Naru's shoulder. "If you can't be quiet, you're going to have to leave," he said, his tone promising many wounds if they woke Mai.

"Sorry," Monk said, tiptoeing to the end of her bed, "Why is she still sleeping? It's like six at night."

"You go through thirty hours of labor with nine devoted to pushing and then tell me she'd not allowed to sleep as long as she wants," Ayako shot at him, glaring daggers at the men. They cringed at the thought of thirty hours, and then Monk and Yasu shrugged at the nine hours. Lin gave then brain dusters so that Ayako didn't have to. John grimaced through the whole thing. He'd seen women give birth before.

Masako's and Emma's mouths dropped open. "N-nine hours? Oh my… dear lord!" Masako said.

"This is the most sleep she's gotten since she got pregnant," Naru said thoughtfully, looking down at her. He moved hair was of her face, tucking it behind her ear. He glanced back up at the group. "What happened at the end of the case?"

Before the others could start in with anything dramatic, John stepped forward and explained what had happened. He held tightly onto Masako's hand like he was afraid she'd end up back in that lake if he let go. Masako had a pleased smiled on her lips that she didn't even try to cover up with her sleeve.

"So Ikki's dead," Naru murmured, looking over at Mai. Everyone knew what he was thinking, but only Ayako was brave enough to say it.

"Good reddens. Now he can never hurt Mai or another woman ever again," she said proudly, nodding.

"No shame," Masako murmured under her breath.

Ayako was getting ready to shout a retort at her, but Mai let out a yawn and slowly sat up. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, staring around at the group around her. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"We came to see how our favorite girl is doing," Monk said, smiling widely. He leaned forward, resting his folded arms on the edge of her bed.

"Oh really? Thanks. What time is it?" she asked, looking over at Naru.

"It's only six in the afternoon," he told her.

She groaned, falling back against her pillows. "I was hoping it was already the next day so I can go home with our baby," she whined, dropping her head back on Naru's shoulder, "Meh, this kind of sucks."

"That's what you get for refusing an epidural," Naru said, flicking her gently in the forehead, "But the doctor said you could go home in another hour or two if you wanted. Though the birth was long, she said it wasn't complicated, and you're apparently very knowledgeable for a first time mother." He said the last part like it was a complete lie.

Mai hit him weakly. "Don't be a jerk. I just gave birth." She didn't get to say anything else because the nurse came in with a little blue bundle. A smile split across her face, lighting up her features.

The nurse handed her the bundle, smiling. "The doctor says you can go home whenever you're ready. I'm going to find you some clothes-"

"Oh, we've got clothes for her right here," Emma said, holding up a paper bag they'd brought.

"Alright, let me go get you the paperwork then," the nurse said.

"I'll be doing the paperwork," Lin said, following her out.

Mai smiled down at the baby in her arms, grinning wider when he clutched her finger. "I told you he'd be a boy," she gloated, grinning at Naru.

"I know, you've been telling me since they told you his gender," Naru said, looking over her shoulder. He reached around her, holding out his hand, and the baby immediately latched onto his finger as well as Mai's.

"This is so surreal," Yasu muttered, watching the pair, "Naru actually looks like a normal person. What's up with that?"

"It's called being a parent," Ayako said, glaring at him.

"What did you name him, Mai?" Monk asked, cutting Yasu off before he could manage to make a retort.

Mai looked up and grinned. "Sora Taniyama."

…..

"Sora! It's time to go!" Mai called. She stood by the door in her black dress, waiting until her now sixteen-year-old son decided to make an appearance. She shifted from foot to foot impatiently.

Sora came out of his bedroom spick and spam in his crisp black suite. Beside him, the doe that he always kept around trotted forward. She was full grown now, and much more graceful than she had been as a fawn, but she still tripped over her own hooves on occasion. Daisuke stood at Mai's side with Hikaru riding shotgun on his back. It was Naru's form of watching her when he wasn't aroud.

"Come one, Mom. We've been to his grave every year since I was two. Plus, there's no specific time we have to be there," he whined, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt and letting it open, "Plus, I don't see why Dad, Sasha-kun and Riko-chan never come with us."

Mai smiled, adjusting his collar. She ruffled his hair making him yell in protest. "Mom!" he shouted.

"I explained this to you when you were twelve. They don't come along because you father didn't like your biological father, he's not Alexander's or Riko's biological father. They didn't even know him seeing as they're younger than you. Plus, I don't see why you call Alexander Sasha, it makes no sense," Mai told him.

Sora groaned, rolling his eyes. "Mom, I've told you this a million times. Sasha is the Russian nickname for Alexander."

"Which is why it doesn't make sense! You're not Russian, not even a smidge," Mai said, shaking her head, "Come on or we're going to miss John, Masako, and Sarah. I know how you like her." Mai waggled her eyebrows at him.

Sora blushed deeply, glaring over her head. "Mom," he groaned, "Why do you got to do that? I-I don't like her! She's been my best friends since we were kids!"

Mai rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Whatever you say, Sora," she said, turning, "Come on, let's get going."

"That's another thing, why do Uncle John and Aunt Masako always come with us?" he asked, grabbing the flowers that were on the table by the door.

Mai shrugged. "They've always said its moral support. I don't see why they need it. They never ever liked your biological father."

Sora sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess the question I've actually wanted to ask is: why do you visit his grave after what he did to you? I… I found out what he did to you. I found out why and how he died. I know how I was conceived. Why do you go to his grave every year? Why did you keep me?" His voice broke and he rubbed at his eyes.

Mai frowned. "I'm going to kill every last one of them," she muttered under her breath. Sighing, she looked up at her son. "I kept you because I knew it'd be wrong not to give you a chance to live, that you'd never be like him. Not with Naru and me as your parents. We go because I want to remember how grateful I am to have this life and to thank him for giving me you. I take you because I don't want you to not know who your father is. Don't ever think that you were ever unwanted," Mai told him, patting him on the cheek. She pulled him into a tight hug.

When Sora pulled away, he was composed again. Naru had taught him well. "Okay, let's go," he said, picking up the flowers and holding the door open for Mai.

**THE END**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it wasn't too crappy. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, especially the last part. Anyway, it's been fun writing this trilogy with you, but it's time to put the pencil down on this one. Look forward to seeing the sequels for both "Ill Fated Reunion" and "Hidden". I'm hoping to work on both at the same time. Review for the sake of the last word on this and for hopefully speedy sequels to "Ill Fated Reunion" and "Hidden" :D**


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